The stakes in decoupling discovery: China’s role in transnational innovation

Technological innovation has emerged as an important site of globalization in recent decades. Yet it is unclear what the future holds for this new form of collaboration, given the spectre of high-tech “decoupling” between the United States and China. This article explores the role that China has come to play in transnational innovation linkages, in an effort to ascertain what is at stake. We find that China has become a key player in some respects, while in others it remains relatively marginal. Moreover, we find that in the arenas where China is most prominent–as a player in brain circulation and as a partner in basic science–China’s participation has had important benefits for other countries, particularly the United States.