Evolution and performance of Chinese technology policy

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the evolution of Chinese technology policy, assess its technological and economic performance from the visual angle of “market in exchange for technology” strategy. Design/methodology/approach A quantified method based on policy contents from policy power, policy goals and policy means was developed to build a policy database, and analyze the evolutionary tendency of Chinese technology policy. In addition, econometric models were built to assess the performance of technology policy. Findings The critical goals of Chinese technology policy are introducing technology directly or indirectly by introducing foreign investment and innovation, but the critical linkage between introduction and innovation‐technology absorption was absent – almost all policy means aim at the introduction of foreign investment and innovation but not technology absorption. More unfortunately, the econometric results show that introduction of foreign investment contributes little, while technology absorption contributes much more. Institutional path‐dependence and the competition for benefits among different departments have aggravated an already unbalanced emphasis on technology policies during the reform. Research limitations/implications During the quantification of technology policy, one perhaps loses some information about policy, and it can only be used to analyze the technology policy system, not special technology policy. Practical implications Analyses of the evolution of Chinese technology policy and econometric results show the blunder of “market in exchange for technology” strategy from policy formulation and execution. Also, it leads to the optimization of technology policy from policy targets, implements based on national technology and innovation strategy. Originality/value The paper develops the method of technology policy quantification and builds econometric models to assess the contribution of technology policy to technology progress and economy development.