Email:[email protected]
作者:Kun Jiang;Larry D. Qiu
翻譯:陳達(dá)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(zhēng)端在短期內(nèi)似乎沒有終結(jié)的跡象,。美國(guó)政府對(duì)中國(guó)不公平貿(mào)易行為的指控,,集中在特朗普政府所稱的中國(guó)投資規(guī)則不合理之處。具體來說,,尋求在中國(guó)進(jìn)行外商直接投資(FDI)的跨國(guó)公司經(jīng)常被要求與中國(guó)國(guó)內(nèi)的合作伙伴建立合法的商業(yè)關(guān)系,,通常是以設(shè)立新分支機(jī)構(gòu)的國(guó)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(jìn)化學(xué)品等高科技制造業(yè)中最為常見——的一個(gè)特點(diǎn)是明確的技術(shù)轉(zhuǎn)讓要求,。除此之外,外國(guó)知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)持有人的權(quán)利往往受到嚴(yán)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(guó)際合資伙伴關(guān)系通常要求外國(guó)公司向合資公司轉(zhuǎn)讓專有方法、設(shè)計(jì)和其他專門知識(shí),。這一政策隱含的目標(biāo)是促進(jìn)先進(jìn)的外國(guó)知識(shí)和商業(yè)機(jī)密的轉(zhuǎn)讓——外國(guó)公司被迫將其視為在全球最大市場(chǎng)開展業(yè)務(wù)的代價(jià),。中國(guó)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(guó)投資者轉(zhuǎn)讓技術(shù),。例如,,盡管中國(guó)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(shù)方面與當(dāng)?shù)卣献鳌?/span>
Foreign Direct Investment and the Diffusion of Knowledge
外商直接投資和知識(shí)的擴(kuò)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(duì)東道國(guó)來說,,外商投資的主要好處之一是可以接觸到國(guó)外先進(jìn)的操作方法、管理方法和設(shè)計(jì),。原則上來講,,這應(yīng)該可以提高國(guó)內(nèi)公司的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力,它們將從以提高生產(chǎn)力和擴(kuò)大創(chuàng)新能力的形式出現(xiàn)的技術(shù)轉(zhuǎn)讓中獲益,。中國(guó)的對(duì)外投資政策就是基于這樣一個(gè)前提,,上世紀(jì)70年代末開始實(shí)行的外向型投資政策的支持者認(rèn)為,向外國(guó)投資開放是獲得外國(guó)技術(shù)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(xiàn)已經(jīng)發(fā)現(xiàn)了這種技術(shù)轉(zhuǎn)讓效應(yīng)存在的證據(jù),。這一領(lǐng)域的基礎(chǔ)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(guó)公司產(chǎn)生了廣泛的知識(shí)溢出,,因?yàn)榭鐕?guó)投資者將其技術(shù)和方法轉(zhuǎn)讓給了它們?cè)趪?guó)外的附屬公司,。這些影響直接或間接地?cái)U(kuò)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(shí)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(duì)于外國(guó)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(guó)投資者應(yīng)對(duì)進(jìn)入新市場(chǎng)所帶來的監(jiān)管和文化上的復(fù)雜關(guān)系??鐕?guó)企業(yè)為確保其海外經(jīng)營(yíng)的成功,,往往會(huì)尋找市場(chǎng)份額大、創(chuàng)新能力強(qiáng)的合作伙伴,,或者在國(guó)際市場(chǎng)上已有一定地位的合作伙伴,。另一方面,對(duì)于外國(guó)投資者來說,,中國(guó)合資伙伴盜用知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)的威脅也是不可否認(rèn)的,。然而,,現(xiàn)實(shí)情況是,這些成本似乎被在華設(shè)立業(yè)務(wù)的跨國(guó)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(guó)際合資企業(yè)的上述問題,重點(diǎn)探討了它們?cè)诖龠M(jìn)外國(guó)技術(shù)向中國(guó)企業(yè)轉(zhuǎn)移方面的作用,,并以此調(diào)查中國(guó)的投資政策是否達(dá)到了目的,。
Joint Ventures and Technology Transfer: The Case of China
合資企業(yè)與技術(shù)轉(zhuǎn)讓:以中國(guó)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(dú)特的外國(guó)投資模式,它有多種技術(shù)轉(zhuǎn)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(wù)外,,外國(guó)投資者有直接的動(dòng)機(jī)將專有技術(shù)轉(zhuǎn)讓給其合資企業(yè),以便新的業(yè)務(wù)取得成功,,這有助于合資公司在與其他公司競(jìng)爭(zhēng)中表現(xiàn)優(yōu)異,。第一個(gè)渠道是我們所說的外國(guó)母公司和合資公司分支機(jī)構(gòu)之間的內(nèi)部技術(shù)轉(zhuǎn)讓(Internal)。
Figure 1: Joint Venture Formation andTechnology Transfer
圖1:合資企業(yè)的形成與技術(shù)轉(zhuǎn)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(gè)渠道是,,中外合資伙伴從(國(guó)外母公司)向其轉(zhuǎn)讓技術(shù)的過程中間接受益。(在這種情形下)外國(guó)投資者幾乎沒有動(dòng)力將技術(shù)直接轉(zhuǎn)讓給他們的合資公司,,但知識(shí)仍然可以通過間接觀察或直接挪用的方式向合作伙伴擴(kuò)散,。我們將這種效應(yīng)稱為代際技術(shù)轉(zhuǎn)讓效應(yīng),因?yàn)橹型夂腺Y公司會(huì)對(duì)其本土母公司產(chǎn)生溢出效應(yīng)(編者注:比如,,上汽大眾對(duì)榮威的擴(kuò)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(shù)擴(kuò)散的影響,,并可能間接受益于外國(guó)技術(shù)的傳播,。外商直接投資產(chǎn)生的知識(shí)外溢是中外合資企業(yè)產(chǎn)生的外部效應(yīng)。
Evidenceon Partner Selection and the Effects of the Technology Transfer
合作伙伴選擇和技術(shù)轉(zhuǎn)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(gè)公司層面的數(shù)據(jù)庫,,對(duì)上述計(jì)量經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)框架中列出的渠道進(jìn)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(yíng)的所有合資企業(yè),這使我們可以觀察到合資公司和中國(guó)國(guó)內(nèi)合作伙伴公司的詳細(xì)屬性,,以及在我們的樣本所涵蓋的時(shí)間段內(nèi),,年銷售額至少為500萬元人民幣的所有其他中國(guó)公司的詳細(xì)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(guó)國(guó)內(nèi)企業(yè)作為合作伙伴組建合資企業(yè)的特點(diǎn),。最有可能被選為合資企業(yè)伙伴的中國(guó)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(dòng)更多,,出口導(dǎo)向性更強(qiáng)。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(xué)習(xí)能力,,能夠從前文提出的代際技術(shù)轉(zhuǎn)讓效應(yīng)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(shù)轉(zhuǎn)讓效應(yīng)的證據(jù),我們的分析表明合資公司在如下幾個(gè)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(guó)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(qǐng)也更多。這也證明引入外國(guó)投資者有助于技術(shù)轉(zhuǎn)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(guó)國(guó)內(nèi)合作伙伴是否因?yàn)殚g接接觸外國(guó)知識(shí)而表現(xiàn)得更好,。重要的是,,我們控制了這一事實(shí),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(gòu)建樣本的方式是將國(guó)內(nèi)合作伙伴公司與具有相似屬性的國(guó)內(nèi)非合作伙伴公司進(jìn)行匹配,,以確保試驗(yàn)組和對(duì)照組是相似的,。其次,我們控制公司層面的固定效應(yīng),,以捕捉某些潛在特征,,它們使國(guó)內(nèi)企業(yè)對(duì)尋求組建合資企業(yè)的外國(guó)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(shí)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(jī),,盡管程度有所下降(編者按:相當(dāng)于將上汽榮威與某家純中資汽車生產(chǎn)商進(jìn)行比較)。同樣,,對(duì)企業(yè)績(jī)效的積極影響意味著知識(shí)通過代際渠道的間接轉(zhuǎn)移,。重申一下,雖然外國(guó)投資者有強(qiáng)烈的動(dòng)機(jī)將技術(shù)直接轉(zhuǎn)讓給他們的合資企業(yè),,但他們的中國(guó)合作伙伴卻沒有這種動(dòng)機(jī)(譯者注:即中國(guó)合作伙伴并沒有動(dòng)機(jī)將技術(shù)轉(zhuǎn)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(shí)與外國(guó)投資者努力阻止其知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)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(duì)其它本土企業(yè)的影響,。分析發(fā)現(xiàn),,這種外部效應(yīng)——先進(jìn)技術(shù)的外溢超出了合資企業(yè)的范圍——在中國(guó)國(guó)內(nèi)其它企業(yè)中產(chǎn)生了更好的績(jī)效,。當(dāng)合資企業(yè)在某一行業(yè)的銷售份額增長(zhǎng)10%時(shí),,該行業(yè)中典型的中國(guó)本土企業(yè)的生產(chǎn)率平均會(huì)提高10%。對(duì)于合資企業(yè)中國(guó)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(huì)提高4.5%左右,。(譯者注:圖1中有兩個(gè)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(guó)合作伙伴建立的合資企業(yè)。我們?cè)谶@方面的分析,,揭示了當(dāng)前美國(guó)對(duì)未經(jīng)授權(quán)的技術(shù)轉(zhuǎn)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(dú)資的FDI相比,外部效應(yīng)如何?我們的估計(jì)表明,,來自這兩種渠道的知識(shí)溢出程度大致相當(dāng),,在我們的樣本期內(nèi),,每一種都占中國(guó)企業(yè)生產(chǎn)率增長(zhǎng)的10%左右,。這些影響是巨大的,,但必須要問的是,中國(guó)的合資政策是否會(huì)帶來擴(kuò)大開放更有效的結(jié)果,。如果合資要求所施加的負(fù)擔(dān)對(duì)外商直接投資起到威懾作用,那么中國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)可能會(huì)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(guó)政府都指責(zé)這種合資政策,,中國(guó)放棄這種要求,,擴(kuò)大開放,,或許受益更明顯。一方面,,第三只腿——“外部效應(yīng)”仍然存在,;另一方面,擴(kuò)大開放,,還會(huì)強(qiáng)化這種“外部效應(yīng)”,。)
Broader Implications and the U.S.–China Trade Dispute
更廣泛的含義與美中貿(mào)易爭(zhēng)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(jìn)入中國(guó)的主要渠道是合資企業(yè)。但最近,,它們的大部分角色都轉(zhuǎn)移給了外商獨(dú)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(duì)中國(guó)(“不合理的”)投資規(guī)則征收數(shù)十億美元的報(bào)復(fù)性關(guān)稅,從而引發(fā)近年來最大的貿(mào)易爭(zhēng)端,。事實(shí)上,,在促進(jìn)技術(shù)轉(zhuǎn)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(guó)還在尋求縮小與西方的技術(shù)差距,,合資企業(yè)仍將是獲取外國(guó)知識(shí)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(gè)重要方面,。外商直接投資的影響已得到了充分的評(píng)估,,但對(duì)技術(shù)轉(zhuǎn)讓的渠道的考察卻很少。重要的是,,我們有一個(gè)新穎(且及時(shí))的發(fā)現(xiàn),,即合資企業(yè)產(chǎn)生的影響似乎與外商獨(dú)資產(chǎn)生的影響大致相當(dāng)。是否可以迫使中國(guó)關(guān)閉這種知識(shí)傳播的渠道(譯者注:即取消合資要求,,中國(guó)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(guó)單方面實(shí)施的報(bào)復(fù)是否會(huì)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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