China’s Push to Innovate in Information Technology

Overview

In the last decade, China has made a startling leap into the front ranks of producers of information technology (IT) goods. Between 1996 and 2004 the value of China’s exports of electronic and communications equipment, and other goods classified as “high-tech” by Chinese customs, grew more than ninefold, from USD 19 billion to USD 180 billion. In 2004, China overtook the United States as the world’s leading exporter of information-technology goods (see Figure 2.1). The structure of China’s IT manufacturing is broad, with substantial exports of computers, consumer audio-video equipment, telecommunications equipment, and components.