China high technology development : meeting the challenge of China's rising power.

Abstract

China's rising technology power is of interest to many catching up countries. The level of a state's technological ability is an important determinant of its economic and military strength. This thesis seeks to study how China raises its technological abilities through reforms. Policies and institutions that leverage foreign direct investment and support China's National Innovation System assist China to acquire mature technology and assimilate them to achieve product and process innovations. These innovations build up China's technological learning and industrial strength that form the foundation of China's high-tech system. The case study focuses on China's aerospace industry and how it utilizes China's high-tech system to propel China onto the international stage by becoming the third country in the world to conduct space exploratory missions.