China shifts gears : automakers, oil, pollution, and development / Kelly Sims Gallagher.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gallagher, Kelly Sims, author.

Series:

Urban and industrial environments

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Automobile industry and trade--China.

Automobile industry and trade.

Automobile industry and trade--Energy consumption.

Automobile industry and trade--Environmental aspects.

China.

Automobile industry and trade--Environmental aspects--China.

Automobile industry and trade--Energy consumption--China.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 219 pages) : illustrations.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, [2006]

System Details:

text file

Summary:

Chinese production of automobiles rose from 42,000 cars per year in 1990 to 2.3 million in 2004; the number of passenger vehicles on the road doubled every two and a half years through the 1990s and continues to grow. In China Shifts Gears, Kelly Sims Gallagher identifies an unprecedented opportunity for China to "shift gears" and avoid the usual problems associated with the automobile industry -- including urban air pollution caused by tailpipe emissions, greenhouse gas emissions, and high dependence on oil imports -- while spurring economic development. This transformation will only take place if the Chinese government plays a leadership role in building domestic technological capacity and pushing foreign automakers to transfer cleaner and more energy-efficient technologies to China. If every new car sold in China had the cleanest and most energy-efficient of the automotive technologies already available, urban air pollution could be minimized, emissions of climate-altering greenhouse gases would be lower than projected, and the Chinese auto industry would continue to flourish and contribute to China's steady economic development. But so far, Gallagher finds, the opportunity to shift gears has been missed. Gallagher looks in detail at three U.S.-Chinese joint ventures: Beijing Jeep, Shanghai GM, and Chang'An Ford. These case studies are based on original research, including interviews with 90 government officials, industry representatives, and experts in both countries. Drawing from the case studies, Gallagher explores the larger issues of the environmental and economic effects of technology transfer in the automobile industry and the policy implications of "leapfrogging" to more advanced technology.

Contents:

Shifting Gears: Problems and Opportunities 2

Methodology 5

2 The Energy and Environmental Dimensions of Cars in China 7

Energy Dimensions of Automobiles in China 8

Health and Environmental Dimensions of Automobiles in China 13

3 Zoom, Zoom, Zoom: The Auto Industry and Economic Development 21

The Chinese Economy 21

The Central Role of the Auto Industry in Economic Development 22

The Structure of the Chinese Auto Industry 24

China's Entry into the WTO 24

The Effect of the WTO 26

The Economic Costs of the Chinese Auto Industry 28

4 Foreign Technology in the Development of China's Automotive Sector 31

Prewar Infancy 32

The Early Postwar Years 34

Stunted Development 35

A Second Infancy 37

Trying to Learn from Foreigners 38

1994 Auto Policy 39

Rapid Growth but Continuing Small Scale 40

Thrust into the Unfettered Free Market 42

The 2004 Auto-Industry Policy 43

5 Beijing Jeep 47

China's First Experiment with a Foreign Joint Venture 47

Trial-and-Error Technology Transfer through the 1990s 55

Lack of Modernization 59

6 Shanghai GM 63

The Risk Takers 63

Raising the Bar for Technology Transfer 71

"Manufacturing Alone, Not Technology Development" 74

7 Chang'An Ford 79

The Risk Averse 79

Good Enough for China 86

Revamping the Strategy 91

8 Technology Transfer, Energy, and the Environment 93

Environmental Performance and Fuel Efficiency 94

Why U.S. Firms Did Not Transfer Cleaner Technologies 97

Why Technology Transfer Is Not Improving Environmental Quality in China 115

Barriers and Incentives 117

9 Technology Transfer, Innovation, and Economic Development 121

Technology Cooperation 122

Stagnation and Technological Lock-In 125

Technology Transfer, FDI, and Economic Development 129

FDI and Chinese Innovation Capabilities 134

10 Limits to Leapfrogging and How to Overcome Them: Implications for Policy, Theory, and Future Research 141

Limits to Leapfrogging 145

Surmounting the Challenges and Pursuing a Strategy of Leapfrogging 148

Implications for Chinese Policy 150

Implications for U.S. Policy 153

Implications for International Policy 157

Implications for Theory 160

Implications for Future Research 161

Appendix C Sino-Foreign Joint Ventures in the Chinese Automobile Industry, 1984-2005 177.

Notes:

OCLC-licensed vendor bibliographic record.

ISBN:

9780262273381

0262273381

026207270X

9780262072700

1423787196

9781423787198

OCLC:

70273069

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.