ABSTRACT
A series of recent statistical reports have called attention to the rapid rise of China's research and development expenditures and the likelihood that Chinese spending on R&D, in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms, will surpass that of the United States in the not-too-distant future (National Science Board, 2016; Van Noorden, 2016; R&D Magazine, 2016). As these quantitative indicators show, there have been significant changes in the Chinese research and innovation systems over the past two decades. Of particular note is the dominant role played by the industrial enterprises sector in the overall national R&D spending account – now more than 70 percent of the total – a major change from the legacy system in which spending by government was the dominant source of funding (Cao, 2015). This shift reflects the influence of state policy intended to make the industrial enterprises sector the core of the national innovation system.
