21–30 of 66 posts
I remind you, developed WTO member countries are obliged to facilitate technology transfers to lesser developed countries by WTO charter. It might be a surprise to most HN readers, but that clause was put in WTO charter by... USA
I frequently think that the China is not actually the bad guy here. To me, tech transfer sounds like a good business practice. If I were going to spend billions of dollars buying something, I would seriously consider demanding the IP and know-how to make more of it myself in the future. That way I would have some assurance that my purchase wouldn’t become unsupported and this worthless and that I won’t get price-gaug…
What the article is talking about is the forced joint-ventures. Do you want to open up a factory to make your product in China? In many industries, that is not legal. You have to find a Chinese partner to do a joint venture with. You can't just pick any company to do the joint venture with either. Practically it needs to be one that has politically connected owners, so that you don't have endless problems with permits and inspections.
Even though the law states that technology transfer is not a condition of the JV, any politically connected JV partner is going to do what politicians ask of them, which is demand technology transfer. Therefore to do business in China, you're forced to transfer your tech.
Meanwhile in the U.S. if you want to start a business, you fire up Stripe Atlas and you're done in ten minutes.
I remind you, developed WTO member countries are obliged to facilitate technology transfers to lesser developed countries by WTO charter. It might be a surprise to most HN readers, but that clause was put in WTO charter by... USA
In other words, I wonder if there's a way to adjust tech transfers to developing countries based on not just the level of development, but also how 'dynamic' the developing country is? Is it fair to punish a country having a population and policies in place that focus on learning and development?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Or we should just tell China that if huawei wants to sell their 5g tech over here, they need to force tech transfer the 5g tech over to us to do so.
No you can’t do that. The US and EU do not agree with this type of governance. It would set a bad precedence.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It removes much of the incentive to build new tech if you have to turn it over and let someone steal it. I wouldn’t go into China with any proprietary tech as a foreigner.
There's a happy middle ground here. Patents expire after 20 years and that's a form of tech transfer. Maybe China's 1 year is too short and the US' 20 years is too long?
I frequently think that the China is not actually the bad guy here. To me, tech transfer sounds like a good business practice. If I were going to spend billions of dollars buying something, I would seriously consider demanding the IP and know-how to make more of it myself in the future. That way I would have some assurance that my purchase wouldn’t become unsupported and this worthless and that I won’t get price-gaug…
Of course technology transfer is good for the transferee. I would like a pony too. What the article is talking about is the forced joint-ventures. Do you want to open up a factory to make your product in China? In many industries, that is not legal. You have to find a Chinese partner to do a joint venture with. You can't just pick any company to do the joint venture with either. Practically it needs to be one that ha…
Some of my friends that are the most angry about this topic, will on the other hand, defend American companies who pay low wages saying no one is forcing the workers to take those low paying jobs.
I remind you, developed WTO member countries are obliged to facilitate technology transfers to lesser developed countries by WTO charter. It might be a surprise to most HN readers, but that clause was put in WTO charter by... USA
I think a unique problem with China (and India too in the future) is that it is so big that the consequences of transfer materialize faster and and in bigger ways. Unlike smaller developing nations, China seems to be pretty good at learning and implementing, either as a matter of policy or through the sheer size of its markets and burgeoning professional class. Siemens and Kawasaki probably didn't expect China to int…
Meanwhile, in the US, our government is on the verge of shutdown every year because we have to raise some artificial debt ceiling to keep the federal government operating.
Why are the Chinese so much more efficient? Americans, even progressive Americans, often think of government being large, inefficient, and bloated. What’s the disconnect?
Had a conversation recently about all that. People ask if the industry will wrap up and move from China. I ask them in response: where would they run away to? Vietnam? Vietnam's entire light industry output is like of one Dongguan's district. India has a lot of workforce, tons of it, but the entire light industry ecosystem has to be built from scratch, or brought along with you. They can't run away.
If negative pressure is sustained long enough, alternatives will be developed. How long has China held a dominant position in electronics assembly? Less than 20 years...and that would be generous. So things can change, definitely not overnight, but in a few years.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
No you can’t do that. The US and EU do not agree with this type of governance. It would set a bad precedence.
Well, they should put tariffs and sanctions, sounds quite reasonable. EU and US is the only economic factor in the world after all. Whos gonna China sell to after that? Africa? Russia? :D
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Of course technology transfer is good for the transferee. I would like a pony too. What the article is talking about is the forced joint-ventures. Do you want to open up a factory to make your product in China? In many industries, that is not legal. You have to find a Chinese partner to do a joint venture with. You can't just pick any company to do the joint venture with either. Practically it needs to be one that ha…
Why is forcing a joint venture a bad deal? Isn’t that choice? You don’t have to do business in China. Some of my friends that are the most angry about this topic, will on the other hand, defend American companies who pay low wages saying no one is forcing the workers to take those low paying jobs.