Abstract:    China′s automobile manufacturing industry has achieved rapid growth in the past decade. Since 2012, China′s independent automobile brands have gradually set up overseas R&D centers through the cultivation of innovation ability. However, compared with developed countries, the establishment of overseas R&D centers by Chinese enterprises started relatively late and is still in its infancy. According to the theory of monopoly advantage and the theory of internalization, MNCs′ overseas R&D investment can make full use of their own technological advantages to promote the improvement of R&D level. With the increase of R&D internationalization, more and more scholars begin to study the impact of R&D internationalization on innovation performance. At present, there are three kinds of views, positive impact, related impact and negative impact. In other words, there is no clear conclusion about the impact of overseas R&D centers on innovation performance. Therefore, whether enterprises should set up overseas R&D centers, the specific considerations of setting up overseas R&D centers and whether there is a positive impact on the innovation performance of the parent company should be further studied.
    On the basis of previous studies, this paper analyzes the automobile industry, which is more popular in the development of overseas R&D centers in recent years, and analyzes whether the establishment of R&D centers overseas of enterprises can directly affect their own innovation performance, whether the number of patents cited, whether the enterprises are state-owned holding and whether cross-border M&A activities to developed countries can affect the establishment of R&D centers overseas and enterprise innovation performance based on the theoretical analysis and empirical analysis, this paper discusses the influence of R&D internationalization on innovation performance more deeply.
   This paper conducts an empirical test on the relationship between the establishment of overseas R&D centers and the innovation performance of the parent company, and draws the following conclusions:
    First, through the introduction of technology and independent innovation, the establishment of overseas R&D centers has a positive impact on the innovation performance of the parent company. The establishment of overseas R&D centers brings more opportunities for enterprises to obtain world-class technical resources, including not only advanced technology levels and R&D capabilities, but also high-quality talents and cutting-edge information, which promote enterprises to increase their awareness of innovation and enhance their ability to innovate. All parties are committed to the improvement of corporate innovation performance, opening up the world market and improving international competitiveness.
    Secondly, the establishment of overseas R&D centers failed to promote the parent company′s further transformation of technological achievements into technological applications, which had a positive impact on the parent company′s innovation performance. Overseas R&D centers have a significant impact on the "total number of patent applications" and "the number of invention patents", but have not brought positive effects on the quality of patents represented by "the number of cited patents". It is suggested that in future China needs to enhance the innovation performance of enterprises by strengthening the application of innovation results.
    Thirdly, state-owned holdings will be subject to certain restrictions from the host country due to policy support, so they do not play an expected role in the impact of the establishment of overseas R&D centers on the innovation performance of enterprises. But cross-border mergers and acquisitions as a type of organization for companies to set up research and development centers overseas can play a role in promoting innovation performance.
    Finally, this article puts forward the enlightenment about the development of China′s automobile manufacturing industry at the enterprise perspective and the government perspective in combination with the above research conclusions. 
     At the enterprise perspective, first of all, China′s auto manufacturers should speed up the pace of "going global". In the future development, China′s auto manufacturers should focus on the global market, open up the international market, set up R&D centers overseas, and make full use of international resources to enhance their own innovation capabilities. Secondly, we need to establish an innovative and coordinated development mechanism that links overseas R&D centers with the parent company in the future, with the purpose of "improving quality and efficiency". Overseas research and development centers should continue to make breakthroughs on the basis of existing patents, increase the number of cited patents, and strengthen the transformation and application of core technologies. The parent company not only needs to focus on overseas introduction, but also needs to improve its own absorption and technology transformation capabilities. Finally, whether we are setting up an overseas R&D center directly or choosing a cross-border merger and acquisition approach to set up an overseas R&D center, you should make adequate preparations and rationally integrate resources. We need to conduct a comprehensive survey of target companies in advance, to understand the local laws, culture, politics, and other factors that affect mergers and acquisitions, and increase the probability of successful establishment or mergers and acquisitions.
    At the government perspective, firstly, the government can introduce a policy mechanism that encourages automobile manufacturers to invest abroad. Secondly, the government can use the political relationship with the host country to establish a green channel for auto manufacturing companies, so that China′s auto manufacturers can make full use of the host country′s innovation resources and learn the advanced technology and R&D level of the host country enterprises. At the same time, companies should weigh the impact of political resources and establish appropriate political connections so that they can use the "hand of the government" to obtain more scarce resources while avoiding the negative effects of excessive government intervention. Finally, the government needs to increase fiscal, taxation and financial support for the establishment of overseas R&D centers by Chinese automobile manufacturers, to solve problems such as difficult financing and slow financing, and to provide them with credit guarantees. At the same time, more preferential tax reduction or exemption policies on encouraging R&D investment, technological innovation and technology conversion should be introduced in future.

Key words: overseas R&D center, innovation performance, patent citation, cross-border merger and acquisition