China’s leadership in the world ICT industry : a successful story of its ‘attracting-in’ and ‘walking-out’ strategy ? China’s outward and inward foreign direct investment policies.

Abstract

This paper questions whether China’s “attracting-in” (selective introduction of inward foreign direct investment, foreign technologies and import) and “walking-out” (export and outward investment expansion) strategies have enabled it to achieve a leadership position in the world information and communication technology (ICT) industry. In 2004, China overtook the US to become the world’s largest ICT exporter. The author argues that “attracting-in” has successfully created favourable conditions for the industry to grow out of China’s transitional economic and political system, but has been unable to facilitate “walking-out” to enable Chinese enterprises to substantially achieve a real leadership position. This is because there is great uncertainty in how to adjust the industrial strategy of the East Asian “catching-up” era to meet the challenges raised by the dynamism of global competition today. Rather than provoking head-to-head competition, China’s rise in the world ICT industry has complemented the increasing specialization of multinational corporations.