Agilent Technologies Inc, which designs electronic and optical tests, measurements, and monitoring instruments, will invest US$8 million this year in research and development (R&D) in China.

"China surpassed Japan in 2004 to become Agilent's second largest market after the US," said Max Yang, newly-appointed president of Agilent Greater China. "China is also Agilent's fastest growing market."

The firm, also involved in life science and chemical analysis, hopes to take part in dope testing during the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008. Another of its businesses is communications management and test systems.

This year Agilent plans to add 100 people to the R&D centre at its China Communications Operation (CCO) in Beijing, said Gail Heck-Sweeney, general manager of the CCO.

Currently, Agilent has more than 200 engineers in CCO, a figure expected to increase a lot more by 2008.

"One key reason (for more R&D investment) is we want to be closer to our customers, as many manufacturing facilities and R&D organizations are in China," said Heck-Sweeney.

She said another reason to spend more on R&D was because China has well-trained engineers. A third reason was the need to "keep up".

"In the 1990s, an US$200 million spent on R&D investment, for example in semiconductors, could give a company an 18-month lead, a technological lead in the industry," she said. "But, in 2000, that same amount of investment might be behind the competition."

She said all companies around the world are looking at ways to get "the right place at the right price and at the right time" in the market.

With more Chinese people speaking better English, an increasing number of global companies have moved their R&D centres to China. In March, Unisys, a technology service provider, set up an outsourcing centre in China, and pledged to pump US$100 million  into it over the next five years.

Heck-Sweeney said Agilent's CCO will do more to develop TD-SCDMA, China's home-grown third generation mobile technology standard.

Agilent has worked on the standard since 2002. Heck-Sweeney said the company is now capable of delivering a complete solution from a base station to mobile phones.
Agilent's other business sectors are also expanding in China.

Cheng Guanghui, marketing manager of Agilent Technologies Shanghai, said: "Since 2000 revenue in China has increased 10-fold."

He said China is the third largest market and one of the fastest growing markets for Agilent in life science and chemical analysis.

Huo Feng, general manager of Chengdu Instrument Division (CID), said the first batch of products locally designed will come off the production line this year.

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