Why is Siemens establishing its robotics R&D centers in China? A case study on the Siemens industrial robot project

China has been transforming its development strategy from an investment-driven to an innovation-led one. Recent government policies (e.g., "Made in China 2025") have shown the country’s ambition to upgrade its manufacturing industry. Meanwhile, the technological environments and market conditions in China have also been changing rapidly. All these changes in terms of government policies, technological environments, and market conditions bring both opportunities and challenges for multinational enterprises (MNEs) in China. How should MNEs react to such new realities? As one leading MNE with a long history in the Chinese market, Siemens has been adapting its global R&D strategies, establishing its R&D centers of industrial robots in China. This represents an interesting case to academic researchers, industry practitioners, as well as policy makers. To better understand the co-evolution of MNEs and China’s innovation systems, we conducted this case study project on the Siemens innovation about industrial robots. The research shows that, on the one hand, Siemens’ decision of conducting R&D on industrial robots in China is driven by China’s evolving host-country environments. On the other hand, the changing R&D strategies of Siemens in China also have impacts on China’s innovation system, helping domestic manufacturers to make more advanced robots.