Email:[email protected]
作者:Kun Jiang,;Larry D. Qiu
翻譯:陳達飛
來源:VoxChina
原題:China’s Joint Venture Policy and the International Transfer of Technology
The ongoing trade dispute between China and the United States has offered few signs of an immediate resolution. Claims by the U.S. government of unfair trade practices on China’s part center on what the Trump administration argues are abusive practices deriving from China’s investment rules. Specifically, multinational firms seeking to conduct foreign direct investment (FDI) in China are often required to form legal business relationships with a domestic Chinese partner, typically in the form of international joint ventures (IJVs) that establish a new offshoot firm. These relationships – most often required in high-tech manufacturing industries suchas automobile production, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and advanced chemicals– are characterized by explicit technology transfer requirements wherein the rights of the foreign intellectual property holder are often severely curtailed.
中美之間持續(xù)不斷的貿(mào)易爭端在短期內(nèi)似乎沒有終結的跡象,。美國政府對中國不公平貿(mào)易行為的指控,集中在特朗普政府所稱的中國投資規(guī)則不合理之處,。具體來說,,尋求在中國進行外商直接投資(FDI)的跨國公司經(jīng)常被要求與中國國內(nèi)的合作伙伴建立合法的商業(yè)關系,通常是以設立新分支機構的國際合資企業(yè)(IJV)的形式,。建立合資企業(yè)——在汽車生產(chǎn),、電子、制藥和先進化學品等高科技制造業(yè)中最為常見——的一個特點是明確的技術轉讓要求,。除此之外,,外國知識產(chǎn)權持有人的權利往往受到嚴重限制。
IJV partnerships typically require the foreign firm to transfer proprietary methods, designs, and other know-how tothe joint venture firm. The implicit objective of such a policy is to foster the transfer of advanced foreign knowledge and trade secrets – a feature that foreign firms are forced to reckon with as the price of doing business in the world’s largest market. China has recently taken steps to liberalize its joint venture requirements in certain industries, but the policy environment remains one in which a technology transfer is expected of foreign investors. For instance, while China’s government was recently able to lure automaker Tesla to establish a production line in Shanghai by allowing the company to wholly ownits factory, the investment agreement still entails cooperation with local authorities on R&D and technology.
國際合資伙伴關系通常要求外國公司向合資公司轉讓專有方法,、設計和其他專門知識,。這一政策隱含的目標是促進先進的外國知識和商業(yè)機密的轉讓——外國公司被迫將其視為在全球最大市場開展業(yè)務的代價。中國最近已采取措施放寬某些行業(yè)的合資要求,,但政策環(huán)境仍是希望外國投資者轉讓技術,。例如,盡管中國政府最近允許汽車制造商特斯拉(Tesla)全資擁有其工廠,,從而吸引該公司在上海建立一條生產(chǎn)線,,但該投資協(xié)議仍需要在研發(fā)和技術方面與當?shù)卣献鳌?/span>
Foreign Direct Investment and the Diffusion of Knowledge
外商直接投資和知識的擴散
One of the primary benefits of foreign investment for a host country is exposure to advanced foreign processes,management practices, and designs. In principle, this exposure should enhance the competitiveness of domestic firms, who will benefit from the technology transfers that arise in the form of higher productivity and expanded innovative capacity. China’s foreign investment policy is grounded in such a premise, as the original proponents of the outward-looking foreign investment policies that began in the late 1970s argue that opening up to foreign investment is the most efficient way to obtain foreign technology.
對東道國來說,外商投資的主要好處之一是可以接觸到國外先進的操作方法,、管理方法和設計,。原則上來講,這應該可以提高國內(nèi)公司的競爭力,,它們將從以提高生產(chǎn)力和擴大創(chuàng)新能力的形式出現(xiàn)的技術轉讓中獲益,。中國的對外投資政策就是基于這樣一個前提,上世紀70年代末開始實行的外向型投資政策的支持者認為,向外國投資開放是獲得外國技術的最有效途徑,。
A sizable literature has uncovered evidence on the existence of such technology transfer effects. The foundational studies in this area – for example, those of Javorcik (2004) or Keller and Yeaple(2009) – show that FDI generates broad knowledge spillovers on host country firms as multinational investors transfer their technology and methods to their foreign affiliates. These effects are diffused both directly and indirectly to domestic firms, who, as levels of foreign investment increases, tend to exhibit higher levels of productivity or engage in more knowledge creation.
大量的文獻已經(jīng)發(fā)現(xiàn)了這種技術轉讓效應存在的證據(jù),。這一領域的基礎研究——例如Javorcik(2004)或Keller和Yeaple(2009)的研究——表明,外商直接投資在東道國公司產(chǎn)生了廣泛的知識溢出,,因為跨國投資者將其技術和方法轉讓給了它們在國外的附屬公司,。這些影響直接或間接地擴散到本土公司,這些公司隨著外商投資的增加,,往往表現(xiàn)出較高的生產(chǎn)力水平,,或從事更多的知識創(chuàng)造工作。
For foreign investors, the benefits availedby joint ventures are clear. A domestic partner can help the foreign investor navigate the regulatory and cultural complexities that arise from entering anew market. To ensure the success of their foreign operations, multinational enterprises seek out partners with large market shares that possess awell-developed capacity for innovation or partners that are alreadywell-established in international markets. On the other hand, the threat of a Chinese joint venture partner appropriating intellectual property is a real onefor foreign investors; however, the reality is that such costs seem to be outweighed by the benefits to multinational firms who establish Chinese operations.
對于外國投資者來說,,合資企業(yè)的好處是顯而易見的。本土合作伙伴可以幫助外國投資者應對進入新市場所帶來的監(jiān)管和文化上的復雜關系,??鐕髽I(yè)為確保其海外經(jīng)營的成功,往往會尋找市場份額大,、創(chuàng)新能力強的合作伙伴,,或者在國際市場上已有一定地位的合作伙伴。另一方面,,對于外國投資者來說,,中國合資伙伴盜用知識產(chǎn)權的威脅也是不可否認的。然而,,現(xiàn)實情況是,,這些成本似乎被在華設立業(yè)務的跨國公司所獲得的好處所抵消。
In our recent work (Jiang et al. 2018), we analyze the above aspects of IJVs with an emphasis on exploring their role infacilitating the transfer of foreign technology to Chinese firms, and in doingso investigate whether China’s investment policy achieves its purpose.
在我們最近的工作(Jiang et al. 2018)中,,我們分析了國際合資企業(yè)的上述問題,,重點探討了它們在促進外國技術向中國企業(yè)轉移方面的作用,,并以此調(diào)查中國的投資政策是否達到了目的。
Joint Ventures and Technology Transfer: The Case of China
合資企業(yè)與技術轉讓:以中國為例
IJVs are a unique mode of foreign investment and there are multiple channels of technology transfer (depicted inFigure 1) through which domestic firms might benefit. In addition to any contractual and regulatory obligations, a foreign investor has a direct incentive to transfer proprietary know-how to its joint venture in order forthe new operation to succeed. This helps joint venture firms become strong performers relative to other domestic firms. This first channel is what we denote as an internal technology transfer that takes place between the foreign parent and the offshoot joint venture firm.
中外合資企業(yè)是一種獨特的外國投資模式,,它有多種技術轉讓渠道(如圖1所示)使得本土企業(yè)可能從中受益。除了任何履行合同和管理義務外,,外國投資者有直接的動機將專有技術轉讓給其合資企業(yè),以便新的業(yè)務取得成功,,這有助于合資公司在與其他公司競爭中表現(xiàn)優(yōu)異,。第一個渠道是我們所說的外國母公司和合資公司分支機構之間的內(nèi)部技術轉讓(Internal)。
Figure 1: Joint Venture Formation andTechnology Transfer
圖1:合資企業(yè)的形成與技術轉讓
The second effect that we consider is one in which the Chinese IJV partner benefits indirectly from the transfer of technology to the joint venture. Foreign investors have little incentive to transfer technology directly to their joint venture partner, but knowledge could still be diffused to the partner through indirect observation or outright appropriation. We denote this effect as the intergenerational technology transfer effect, as IJVs generate spillovers on their domestic partner firms.
我們考慮的第二個渠道是,,中外合資伙伴從(國外母公司)向其轉讓技術的過程中間接受益,。(在這種情形下)外國投資者幾乎沒有動力將技術直接轉讓給他們的合資公司,但知識仍然可以通過間接觀察或直接挪用的方式向合作伙伴擴散,。我們將這種效應稱為代際技術轉讓效應,,因為中外合資公司會對其本土母公司產(chǎn)生溢出效應(編者注:比如,上汽大眾對榮威的擴散),。
Finally, domestic firms outside of the joint venture might themselves be impacted by the proliferation of foreign investment and could benefit indirectly from the spread of foreign technology. The knowledge spillovers that arise from FDI represent the external effects of IJV formation.
最后,,合資企業(yè)以外的本土公司本身也可能受到外商投資產(chǎn)生的技術擴散的影響,并可能間接受益于外國技術的傳播,。外商直接投資產(chǎn)生的知識外溢是中外合資企業(yè)產(chǎn)生的外部效應,。
Evidenceon Partner Selection and the Effects of the Technology Transfer
合作伙伴選擇和技術轉讓影響的證據(jù)
We quantify the channels outlined above inan econometric framework using an administrative firm-level data set that accounts for all joint ventures operating in China from 1998–2007. Our dataset allows usto observe detailed attributes of both the joint venture firms as well as the domestic Chinese partner firms, along with all other Chinese firms with at least 5 million RMB in yearly sales operating during the period of time covered by our sample.
我們采用一個公司層面的數(shù)據(jù)庫,對上述計量經(jīng)濟學框架中列出的渠道進行了量化分析,。該數(shù)據(jù)庫涵蓋了1998年至2007年在華經(jīng)營的所有合資企業(yè),,這使我們可以觀察到合資公司和中國國內(nèi)合作伙伴公司的詳細屬性,以及在我們的樣本所涵蓋的時間段內(nèi),,年銷售額至少為500萬元人民幣的所有其他中國公司的詳細屬性,。
First, we explore the characteristics ofthe domestic Chinese firms that are selected as partners to form an IJV. The Chinese firms most likely to be chosen as partners in IJVs are larger and more productive (as measured by total factor productivity), engage in more innovation and patenting, and are more export-oriented. Such productive, well-established firms on the frontiers of innovation are the firms that possess the absorptive capacity (after Cohen and Levinthal 1990) to benefit from the intergenerational technology transfer effect posited earlier.
首先,我們探討了選擇中國國內(nèi)企業(yè)作為合作伙伴組建合資企業(yè)的特點,。最有可能被選為合資企業(yè)伙伴的中國企業(yè)規(guī)模更大,,生產(chǎn)率更高(以全要素生產(chǎn)率衡量),從事的創(chuàng)新和專利活動更多,,出口導向性更強,。這種處于創(chuàng)新前沿的具有生產(chǎn)力的、成熟的公司具有吸收和學習能力,,能夠從前文提出的代際技術轉讓效應中獲益,。
As evidence for the internal technology transfer effect, we show that joint venture firms operate very well along several dimensions of performance. Controlling for other firm characteristics, joint venture firms are on average more productive (by about 30 percent asmeasured by total factor productivity), secure higher sales, and engage in more patenting relative to other, non-joint venture Chinese firms. This is evidence consistent with the beneficial transfer of technology from the foreign investor firm.
作為內(nèi)部技術轉讓效應的證據(jù),我們的分析表明合資公司在如下幾個方面的表現(xiàn)都很好,。在控制其他企業(yè)特征的情況下,,與中國其他非合資企業(yè)相比,合資企業(yè)的平均生產(chǎn)率更高(以全要素生產(chǎn)率衡量約為30%),,銷售收入更高,,專利申請也更多。這也證明引入外國投資者有助于技術轉移,。
We then investigate whether the domestic Chinese partners in joint venture relationships are also better performers as aresult of their indirect exposure to foreign knowledge. Importantly, we control for the fact that these partner firms are typically better performers even before the formation of the joint venture. We account for this endogeneity using two approaches. First, we construct our sample in such a way that domestic partner firms are matched with domestic non-partner firms that have similar attributes to ensure that the treatment and control groups are similar. Second, we control for firm-level fixed effects to capture the underlying characteristics that make domestic firms more attractive to foreign investors looking to form a joint venture.
然后,,我們還考察了在合資企業(yè)中的中國國內(nèi)合作伙伴是否因為間接接觸外國知識而表現(xiàn)得更好。重要的是,我們控制了這一事實,,即這些合作伙伴公司甚至在成立合資企業(yè)之前也有很好的表現(xiàn),。我們使用兩種方法來處理這種內(nèi)生性。首先,,我們構建樣本的方式是將國內(nèi)合作伙伴公司與具有相似屬性的國內(nèi)非合作伙伴公司進行匹配,,以確保試驗組和對照組是相似的。其次,,我們控制公司層面的固定效應,,以捕捉某些潛在特征,它們使國內(nèi)企業(yè)對尋求組建合資企業(yè)的外國投資者更具吸引力,。
The domestic parents of IJVs exhibit above average performance along the same dimensions as joint venture firms, although to a diminished degree. Again, the positive effects on firm performance implythe indirect transfer of knowledge via the intergenerational channel. To reiterate the point from earlier, while foreign investors have a strong incentive to transfer technology directly to their joint ventures, no such incentive exists with regard to their Chinese partners. The fact that the intergenerational effect is more muted than the internal effect is consistent with foreign investors taking efforts to preventthe dissemination of their intellectual property.
(實證分析表明)中外合資企業(yè)的本土母公司在相同的方面表現(xiàn)出高于平均水平的業(yè)績,,盡管程度有所下降(編者按:相當于將上汽榮威與某家純中資汽車生產(chǎn)商進行比較)。同樣,,對企業(yè)績效的積極影響意味著知識通過代際渠道的間接轉移,。重申一下,雖然外國投資者有強烈的動機將技術直接轉讓給他們的合資企業(yè),,但他們的中國合作伙伴卻沒有這種動機(譯者注:即中國合作伙伴并沒有動機將技術轉讓給其母公司),。代際傳播的影響比內(nèi)部傳播的影響要小,這一事實與外國投資者努力阻止其知識產(chǎn)權傳播是一致的,。
Finally, we examine the effect on domestic firms in industries where IJVs are more prevalent. This external effect – theleakage of advanced technology beyond the confines of IJVs – is found toengender better performance among other domestic Chinese firms. When the shareof an industry’s sales conducted by IJVs grows by 10 percent, the typical domestic Chinese firm in the industry is found to be on average 10 percent more productive. For the effect arising from domestic IJV partners, a 10 percent increase in partner firms’ share of industry sales yields around a 4.5 percent increase in other firms’ productivity. Strikingly, the bulk of these external effects seem to arise from joint ventures established with American partners,an aspect of our analysis that sheds light on the origins of current U.S. complaints about unauthorized technology transfers.
最后,,我們考察了在中外合資企業(yè)比較普遍的行業(yè)中,(組建合資企業(yè))對其它本土企業(yè)的影響,。分析發(fā)現(xiàn),,這種外部效應——先進技術的外溢超出了合資企業(yè)的范圍——在中國國內(nèi)其它企業(yè)中產(chǎn)生了更好的績效。當合資企業(yè)在某一行業(yè)的銷售份額增長10%時,,該行業(yè)中典型的中國本土企業(yè)的生產(chǎn)率平均會提高10%,。對于合資企業(yè)中國合作伙伴的影響是,合作伙伴公司在行業(yè)銷售中所占份額每增加10%,,其它公司的生產(chǎn)率就會提高4.5%左右,。(譯者注:圖1中有兩個external,這兩句話,,分別做了考察,。)引人注目的是,這些外部影響的大部分似乎來自于與美國合作伙伴建立的合資企業(yè),。我們在這方面的分析,,揭示了當前美國對未經(jīng)授權的技術轉讓現(xiàn)象的抱怨的根源。
How do these external effects compare tothose from wholly-foreign owned FDI? Our estimates indicate that the extent ofthe knowledge spillovers from these two sources are approximately equal, with each accounting for around 10 percent of the productivity growth of Chinese firms over the period of our sample. These are large effects, but the question must be asked whether China’s joint venture policy leads to a more efficient outcome than what would arise from a more open environment. If the burdens imposed by the IJV requirement act as a deterrent for FDI, it could be the case that China’s economy would benefit from a more liberalized investment regime.
與外商獨資的FDI相比,,外部效應如何?我們的估計表明,,來自這兩種渠道的知識溢出程度大致相當,,在我們的樣本期內(nèi),每一種都占中國企業(yè)生產(chǎn)率增長的10%左右,。這些影響是巨大的,,但必須要問的是,中國的合資政策是否會帶來擴大開放更有效的結果,。如果合資要求所施加的負擔對外商直接投資起到威懾作用,,那么中國經(jīng)濟可能會從更加自由化的投資體制中受益,。(譯者注:引申的意思是說,,如果現(xiàn)在外企和外國政府都指責這種合資政策,中國放棄這種要求,,擴大開放,,或許受益更明顯。一方面,,第三只腿——“外部效應”仍然存在,;另一方面,擴大開放,,還會強化這種“外部效應”,。)
Broader Implications and the U.S.–China Trade Dispute
更廣泛的含義與美中貿(mào)易爭端
Originally, the main channel through which foreign investment entered China in recent years IJVs have yielded much of their role to wholly-foreign owned enterprises. This de-emphasis of IJVs has not deterred the Trump administration from enacting billions of dollars inretaliatory tariffs in response to Chinese investment rules, setting off the largest trade dispute in recent memory. The fact remains that IJVs are distinct from other forms of FDI in the precise ways in which they facilitate technology transfers, and so long as China seeks to close its technology gap with the West, IJVs will remain a viable option for acquiring foreign knowledge.
最初,外商投資進入中國的主要渠道是合資企業(yè),。但最近,,它們的大部分角色都轉移給了外商獨資企業(yè)。合資企業(yè)重要性的下降,,并未阻止特朗普政府對中國(“不合理的”)投資規(guī)則征收數(shù)十億美元的報復性關稅,,從而引發(fā)近年來最大的貿(mào)易爭端。事實上,,在促進技術轉讓的方式上,,合資企業(yè)與其他形式的外商直接投資不同。只要中國還在尋求縮小與西方的技術差距,,合資企業(yè)仍將是獲取外國知識的可行選擇,。
Our work sheds light on this important issue in investment policy and unpacks an important aspect of globalization.The effects of FDI have been well-examined, but the channels of technology transfer have been little explored. Importantly, we uncover the novel (andtimely) finding that the effects arising from IJVs seem to be approximately as large as those that arise from wholly foreign-owned FDI. Whether China can be coerced to shut off this source of knowledge diffusion – and whether the unilateral retaliation enacted by the U.S. will persuade them to do it – are questions without obvious answers.
我們的工作闡明了投資政策中的這一重要問題,揭示了全球化的一個重要方面,。外商直接投資的影響已得到了充分的評估,,但對技術轉讓的渠道的考察卻很少。重要的是,,我們有一個新穎(且及時)的發(fā)現(xiàn),,即合資企業(yè)產(chǎn)生的影響似乎與外商獨資產(chǎn)生的影響大致相當。是否可以迫使中國關閉這種知識傳播的渠道(譯者注:即取消合資要求,,中國正在逐步取消部分行業(yè)的合資要求,,比如部分金融公司),,以及美國單方面實施的報復是否會說服他們這么做,這些都是沒有明確答案的問題,。
作者:
Kun Jiang, Nottingham University; WolfgangKeller, University of Colorado-Boulder;
Larry D. Qiu, University of Hong Kong;William Ridley, University of Colorado.
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