China government policies in Research and Development (R&D) aim to attract top foreign talents to come to China and conduct their researches. The government assures proper funding, loose visa restrictions, and free hands to work on their desired researches.
China is now becoming a destination for high-quality Research and Development facilities with its $278 billion spent on R&D partnerships.
Cambridge University-Nanjing
Recently, the capital city of China’s Jiangsu province has inaugurated the Cambridge University-Nanjing Center of Technology and Innovation. The joint project started March last year, the Research and Development (R&D) facility aims to build a modernized city equipped with state-of-the-art healthcare systems, fully integrated Information Technology, and advanced building management system.
The Cambridge-Nanjing center is strategically located at the Jiangsu pilot free trade zone which recently opened last August 2019. The center is expected to synch in well with the related industries, other research universities, and the Chinese government throughout its operation.
Clever collaboration: Cambridge University establishes innovation center in Nanjing to help build smart cities https://t.co/eZ0hOQ4p0a pic.twitter.com/dNFGiqhCit
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) September 11, 2019
Foreign Universities partner with China
Cambridge University wasn’t the first and certainly not the last in line for foreign universities establishing campuses in mainland China. Some of the notable universities that have established R&D facilities in China include Stanford University, University of California, Oxford University, The National University of Singapore, Imperial College London, and the Australian National University.
The reason behind the incorporation of these prestige universities into China’s R&D projects is due to the funding. Records from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) shows, in the year 1991 China spent 0.72% of its GDP on R&D, and the values continue to grow yearly. China has committed to spend 2.5% of its GDP by 2020.
Last year, China spent 2.19% of its GDP on R&D, the value surmounts to 1.97 trillion yuan ($278 billion). This is the amount of commitment the government has given to Research and Development.
The rapid economic growth in China has resulted in lesser people in the below poverty line in the country. With people landing better per capita income, the demand for higher quality education also increases. Instead of having to send the students to foreign countries to study in top universities, the government acted by bringing the top universities into China.
Research and Development in China
We are all aware of the competitiveness of Chinese brands in technology-related products recently, brands like Huawei, Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, and others. China is indeed gearing up its market on better technology advancement that is used daily. With the constant build-up between top universities and China when it comes to R&D, it won’t be long till China takes the lead in global tech advancements.
This kind of government support is what other countries should take as an example. Indian universities should use China as an example to convince their government to invest a decent amount for R&D facilities.
