An IW study shows China continues to expand its control over German innovation and technology.
JAKARTA – China now controls more than 11,300 patents developed in Germany over the past two decades, according to a new study by the German Economic Institute (IW), prepared at the request of the Bertelsmann Foundation.
As reported by Reuters, the study highlights the growing influence of foreign ownership over innovations originating in Germany. Nearly one in three inventions developed in the country is now owned by foreign entities.
The United States remains the largest foreign owner, controlling almost one-third of those patents, while around 11% are held by Swiss owners.
However, the study highlights China’s increasingly aggressive expansion, particularly in industrial technology and mechanical engineering.
IW recorded the most significant increase in the mechanical engineering sector. The number of patents filed in the field rose to 4,300 in 2022 from around 3,300 in 2000.
According to the report, China has been among the most active parties acquiring German technology in this sector.
“German companies also hold patents abroad. That is part of fair competition,” said IW expert Oliver Koppel.
Nevertheless, Koppel argued that China’s strategy differs from that of other countries because the government in Beijing actively encourages the acquisition of Western technology, while access for foreign investors to China’s domestic market remains relatively restricted.
“That is an imbalance,” Koppel said.
He added that European countries need to monitor more closely the transfer of technologies that hold strategic value for industrial competitiveness.
According to IW, the rising level of foreign ownership of German innovation has coincided with signs of weakening domestic innovation capacity.
The institute noted that research and development (R&D) investment in Germany is no longer growing as rapidly as in competing economies.
In 2000, Germany ranked third globally in research and development spending, with investment levels twice as large as China’s.
By 2021, however, Germany had fallen to sixth place, while China had surged to become one of the world’s largest investors in research and development. (DH/ZH)
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