Indicator-based reporting on the Chinese innovation system 2010: The regional dimension of science and innovation in China

As regularly stated by both international scholars and confirmed by the Chinese government itself socio-economic development in China remains highly uneven both sociologically and regionally. Conventional wisdom holds that the prevailing economic trend remains one of divergence rather than convergence. While the world-market oriented coastal provinces develop dynamically, the inland and certainly the Western provinces keep lagging behind. Nonetheless, after a number of years with increasing government proclamations regarding the objective of a harmonious society and efforts to develop the inland provinces there is no longer a unanimous trend, particularly with regard to activities under the direct or indirect control of government. Hence, it appears reasonable to analyse to what extent these general trends with regard to the regional distribution of socio-economic development affect the different dimensions of relevance to science and innovation. Consequently, it will be a key aspect of this study to focus on the development of the regional concentration of different R&D activities, thus addressing the question whether the Chinese innovation system is becoming more heterogeneous or less so. The following sections will follow the R&D process through from R&D-related investments to its eventual possible effects on the national export performance. In detail, it will analyse the regional dimension of R&D activities. [...]