Normally one associates competitive advantages with companies instead of countries. However, when it comes to international trade it is important to try and understand why some countries have had more success than others in exporting different commodities. The goal of this project is to outline and conduct a strategic analysis of countries exporting softwood logs and sawn wood to the Chinese market and address the issues China’s demand will have to face. This issue is that Russia is proposing and already in the works of initiating a ban on exporting softwood logs in January 2022. With Russia withdrawing, this will leave a large gap in the market share for which other countries will have an opportunity to capture. Therefore, this project focuses on a comparative analysis of what strategies countries could implement to sustain this demand. China has grown and continues to be the largest consumer of softwood in the world. This has led to sustainability being a large concern for Russia who has been the longest major supplier of softwood timber to China. China also knows that by itself it does not have enough wood to support its entire population and relies heavily on importing timber from other countries. Now with Russia discontinuing to export softwood logs in 2022, China will need to find a way to import enough softwood logs to meet its demand. The main question this project tries to answer is how and which countries will be able to do this. By analyzing the external environment of China’s softwood imports, the internal environment of countries, and then concluding with a SWOT analysis this project will try to assess which countries have the capabilities and resources to jump on this opportunity.

The surge of United States high-tech firms offshoring operations to China was driven by economic incentives of the early 1990s, low costs of labor, and ample access to an abundance of resources required in high-tech manufacturing. The dawn of the 21st century served as the advent of technological advancement and innovation in congruence with China’s rapid ascension as a prime high-tech manufacturing hub. However, increased allegations of foreign intellectual property (IP) infringement in outsourced research and development (R&D) and manufacturing on behalf of China’s state-owned enterprises (SOE) have evoked concern amongst international speculators, who allege China of weakened intellectual property enforcement and collusive tactics with state-owned enterprises in the cultivation of an anti-competitive marketplace. This thesis applies a trilateral approach to determine the optimal legal, supply chain management, and business strategies to safeguard the intellectual property of high-tech firms with outsourced operations in China.<br/><br/>Firstly, this thesis explores China’s rapid acceleration of manufacturing capabilities in tandem with nationalist initiatives, historical background, and subsequent influence cultural notions; aspirations in attaining global dominance as a high-tech innovator via nationalist programs and incentives. Succeeding is a comparative analysis of intellectual property between the United States and China, associations between intellectual property protection and economic development, and global intellectual property agreeance as set forth by the World Trade Organization (WTO). Following is a legal analysis of China, which assesses legislation, judicial structure, and litigation. Lastly, is an assessment of supply chain management in China, which assesses high-tech outsourcing practices, the vulnerability of intellectual property in research and development, instances of patent infringement, unfair licensing practices, and trade secret misappropriation.