Abstract: Since the implementation of the “going out” strategy, the number of cross-border M&As of Chinese companies has grown rapidly and is increasingly inclined to pursue technology, branding and specialization. According to the data of the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China, the average growth rate of cross-border M&A transactions of Chinese enterprises between 2004-2014 was as high as 34.21%. Cross-border M&A has become the main way for Chinese enterprises to invest abroad. The increase in the number of mergers and acquisitions in the industrial manufacturing, high-tech industries and medical and health industries shows that Chinese enterprises are using cross-border mergers and acquisitions as leverage for their ability to jump, to acquire the technology, resources and brands of target enterprises, and to improve their own capabilities. Then, does the overseas M&A activity of Chinese companies promote the improvement of their R&D innovation capabilities?
The academic community has had a heated discussion on this topic, However, most of the existing studies are more concentrated on micro- and meso-level while rarely on the macro-level, which makes it impossible to distinguish the impact of cross-border M&A on micro-enterprise R&D innovation. In terms of research methods, existing researches often directly analyze the relationship between cross-border M&A and R&D innovation, but fail to identify the net effect of cross-border M&A. With the launch and implementation of the Belt and Road initiative, China has successively signed the Belt and Road cooperation agreements with a number of countries. Under this background, it is necessary to make an objective evaluation of the impact of cross-border mergers and acquisitions on the innovation capability of Chinese enterprises along all the other countries along the way, in order to determine whether these mergers have spillover effects and thus enhance the innovation capability of enterprises.
For above all, this paper attempts to adopt the Chinese enterprises’ M&A data alongthe Belt and Road from 2001 to 2014 from the micro-enterprise level. Based on the benchmark regression model, the PSM method is used to further analyze the impact of Chinese enterprises’ M&A on the parent company’s R&D innovation from the perspectives of categories of merged industry, region of parent company and the country of acquired company.
The empirical results indicate that: (1) In general, cross-border mergers and acquisitions under the “going out” strategy have a significant positive effect on the R&D intensity of multinational corporations. Chinese enterprises’ cross-border mergers and acquisitions ofthe Belt and Road countries have significantly enhanced the R&D level of multinational enterprises; (2) The differences in the types of industries and regions in which multinational enterprises are located make the effectiveness of R&D promotion brought about by cross-border M&A quite different. The specific performance are as follows: Firstly, compared with labor-intensive industries, cross-border M&A has greater effect on enhancing R&D intensity of capital-intensive industries. Secondly, he regional differences of R&D intensity of transnational mergers and acquisitions show the pattern of "Eastern - Central - Western" decreasing in turn; (3) The influence of industry similarity between M&A companies and acquired enterprises on R&D intensity of cross-border M&As show that: M&A in the same industry will significantly increase the R&D intensity of labor-intensive industries, and capital-intensive industries will be the opposite; (4) The spillover effect of China’s the Belt and Road cross-border M&A on the R&D and innovation capability of the parent company is significantly related to the R&D and innovation capabilities of the countries (regions) where the target enterprises are located.
Based on the above research conclusions, this paper propose the following policy recommendations: First of all, it is necessary to build a policy environment and support system forthe Belt and Road cross-border mergers and acquisitions, and release the dividend for the development of Chinese enterprises. On the one hand, the government needs to give certain preferential treatment and support to the cross-border mergers and acquisitions of countries along the Belt and Road in macroeconomic policies, and enhances the implementation of policies; on the other hand, the government should actively carry out business cooperation with the countries along the route and sign the Belt and Road cooperation agreement, so as to provide convenience for Chinese enterprises. 
Secondly, we must break the barriers that hinder the flow of innovation factors and promote the coordinated development of regional innovation capabilities. Affected by the level of economic development and resource endowment, the innovation capabilities of various regions in China have shown significant differentiation characteristics, and the development of regional innovation capability has been seriously uncoordinated, which has led to the regional differences in R&D intensity of multinational enterprises caused by cross-border M&A show a decreasing pattern of "eastern - central - western".
Thirdly, we must speed up the implementation of the Chinese standard "going out." China should cultivate the technological innovation capability of local enterprises, support the growth of local competitive enterprises, strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights, continuously deepen the reform of standardization work, encourage all stakeholders to actively participate in the formulation and implementation of international standardization, promote economic and trade cooperation among countries around the world through realizing standardization cooperation, and give full play to the supporting role of standards in promoting the construction ofthe Belt and Road.
Finally, it is necessary to further optimize the introduction, digestion, absorption and re-innovation of foreign technology, and attach importance to cultivation of independent innovation capabilities. In the early stage of reform and opening up, the introduction of advanced technology from developed countries has become an important way for China to catch up with the social, economic and technological innovation. However, with the rapid development of China’s economy and society, excessive dependence on foreign technology has caused a substitute for local innovation. Due to lack of independent innovation capability, enterprises still stay in the initial stage of pure technology introduction, and cannot realize the transition from “introduction” to “absorption-re-innovation”. For Chinese enterprises, it is necessary to vigorously cultivate their independent innovation ability, achieve the balance between technology introduction and independent innovation, strengthen basic innovation research, and formulate strategies to improve their innovation ability suitable for their own industrial development.

Key words:  the Belt and Road, cross-border M&A, R&D innovation, propensity score matching