International Project Management in Engineering Research in China

Engineering research `made in China' plays an increasingly important role worldwide. As a result, international collaboration in joint research projects will be more frequent in the future. It is for this reason that there is a need for project management approaches that address the impact of cultural aspects in such partnerships. The paper reviews the state of project management in engineering projects in China and the impact of cultural differences. The literature available on managing international collaborative projects in China focuses predominantly on large-scale projects in the construction sector, while there is a lack of publications focussing on other engineering and research activities and small-scale cooperations. Based on a real case “Energy Efficiency in the Ningbo Automotive Industry”, the benefits and challenges for international project management in engineering research in China are introduced in this paper.