Multinationals R & D Investment Location Select

Research and development (R&D) is one of the core functions of MNCs, is also the main source of MNCs' worldwide competitive advantage. For a long time, in order to prevent spillover of innovative technologies and maintain the international competitiveness of technology leadership, MNCs generally take its' R&D activities be concentrated in the home country, under the strict control of the company headquarters, the international trend of R&D is not evident. Since the 1990s, with in-depth development of economic globalization and international competition becoming increasingly fierce, some large MNCs in order to enhance international competitiveness and for overseas markets to support local production and make full use of all countries in the world of existing scientific and technological resources to reduce costs and risks in the process of new product development, have changed the home country R&D center as the traditional layout in the past, start on organizing R&D institutions in a global scale and arrangements for overseas R&D investment, thereby contributing to the MNCs' R&D activities in the international direction.In the R&D of the international billowing tide, with the reform and opening up of China making the continuous progress, MNCs in order to seize the enormous potential of Chinese market and make full use of Chinese cheap and abundant human resources in scientific research, increasing direct investment in China (FDI) at the same time, has increased R&D investment, the establishment of the R&D institutions are more and more. According to the Ministry of Commerce statistics, the sum of R&D institutions set up by MNCs in China had exceeded 980.MNCS' R&D investment choice of location in China are showing a significant concentration of the centre city, the concentration of the inner city, focus on regional distribution and concentration of the source of investment, focus on regional headquarters of MNCs and the dispersion except the concentration. The factors of impacting on MNCs' R&D investment in China are these, the size of the market and the level of economic development, regional research strength and research environment, communications infrastructure and cultural system. MNCs' R&D investment choice of location in China have had a significant impact and effect, including the positive effects and negative effects. Major positive effects are to promote Chinese economic development and to drive the level of Chinese research and development, regional economic and innovatory effects, technological innovation and the demonstration effect of management, spillover effects of technical knowledge and the effect of talents' flowing. Negative effects are those that MNCs' "technology lock in" and technological monopoly in China undermine independent innovation capability of China, increase the Chinese enterprises' dependence on MNCs' core technology, the loss of R&D resources and prominent regional economic gap is widening, and so on. But generally speaking, the positive effects are better than negative effects.MNCs' R&D investment in China, provided us the opportunity of close-up access to foreign companies' core competencies, will help improve national and local innovation capability, but also means a grim challenge to China. Therefore, the analysis of MNCs' R&D investment in China and the status of MNCs' R&D investment choice of location in China, we take full advantage of global innovation resources, enhancing our ability to innovate is of practical significance, but also is conducive to Chinese respond to better and guide MNCs' R&D investment layout in China, but also to provide help for China to carry out reasonable R&D institutions and R&D siting industrial layout, and give our enterprises certainly enlightening to develop overseas R&D investment. The face of the characteristics and the challenges of MNCs' R&D investment choice of location in China, we should actively fight. On the one hand, we will actively attract MNCs' R&D investment in China, introduce high and new technology, make the rational distribution of MNCs' R&D investment in China reasonable. On the other hand we must attach importance to the pressure and challenges brought by MNCs' R&D investment choice of location in China, the Chinese government and enterprises should actively deal with and strengthening enterprises in the role of national innovation, and increase their R&D investment, and enhance enterprises' capacity of technology absorption, strengthen technological exchanges and cooperation with MNCs , enhance enterprises' ability of the independent research and development, and raise the level of competition the domestic market to prevent a monopoly of MNCs. We should establish a rational mechanism for personnel flows, and focus on human resources development. We should encourage the enterprises with better conditions to set up overseas R&D institutions and to participate in international R&D network and to promote the internationalization of Chinese R&D.