Teaching Note: DuPont China: Sustaining Innovation

Since entering China in 1988, DuPont, a long-established U.S. chemical company, has progressed through three stages of development: from “selling products into China,” to “optimizing product solutions,” and then to “global innovation capabilities with local solutions.” As demand in the Chinese market expanded, particularly with the rapid growth of emerging industries such as photovoltaics and new energy, DuPont China strengthened the technical capabilities of its local teams and, in selected emerging fields, began to play a leading role in industry innovation and development.

In recent years, the global chemical industry has faced the challenge of slowing growth. In particular, fundamental...