In a recent conference, UNCTAD analyzed the development of foreign-invested R&D centers and its quantitative increase in developing countries.

According to the conference, generally speaking, research and innovation activities are more confined to the parent countries of multinational companies than manufacturing activities are. However, R&D has been demonstrating an internationalizing trend, and developing countries have gradually emerged as international creation and innovation hubs.

Some experts are of the view that relevant agencies in developing and developed countries should be engaged in more bilateral cooperation so as to facilitate the establishment and enhancement of innovation and creation systems of relevant countries. The cooperation between France and some universities in China is a good example of mutually beneficial cooperation between developed parent countries and developing host countries. High-quality researchers trained through such cooperation can work with either local research institutions or affiliated companies of French multinationals.

Source: the website of the Economic and Trade Section of the Chinese Diplomatic Mission in Geneva