China's Competitiveness: Myths, Realities, and Lessons for the United States and Japan

Chinese companies have emerged to challenge traditionally dominant international firms. CSIS and Japan’s 21st Century Public Policy Institute have looked at the cases of five such firms, examining the factors that led to their rise

Papers

About

The growth of the Chinese economy, particularly in the last 20 years, has been staggering. Until recently, much of this growth had come from producing labor-intensive, low value-added goods. Today, however, Chinese competitiveness is no longer confined to lower-end production. Chinese policymakers are laser focused on helping Chinese firms move up the industrial value chain. Moreover, policymakers have made explicit the goal of assisting the international expansion of Chinese firms in a desire to “go global” and have made efforts to build internationally recognizable brands commensurate with China’s growing global clout. These policy goals have at times struck decidedly nationalistic and protectionist tones, raising concerns globally in both corporate and government sectors.

Now, a number of Chinese companies have emerged to challenge traditionally dominant international firms. CSIS and Japan’s 21st Century Public Policy Institute have looked at the cases of five such firms (Huawei, Lenovo, Suntech, Shanghai Auto, and China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock), examining the factors that led to their rise, their current state of competitiveness, and the policy implications. In addition to the case studies, a report was also done on the Chinese industrial policymaking process. The policymaking report serves as both a primer on the policymaking process and also provides an in depth look at actual cases, including the strategic emerging industries policy development.

This project was made possible by generous support from the Sasakawa Peace Foundation.

Project Directors

Kiyo Aburaki
21st Century Public Policy Institute

Nathaniel Ahrens
Center for Strategic and International Studies

Project Commissioners

Masashi Adachi
21st Century Public Policy Institute

Nate Dalton
Affiliated Managers Group

Charles Freeman
Pepsico

Michael Green
Center for Strategic and International Studies

Kazumasa Kusaka
University of Tokyo

James Lewis
Center for Strategic and International Studies

Tomoo Marukawa
University of Tokyo

Ryoji Nakagawa
Ritsumeikan University

Daniel Rosen
Rhodium Group and Peterson Institute for International Economics