Symantec will double the number of research and development (R&D) staff at its China Development Center in Beijing, the company said Tuesday.Symantec will add 300 more staff to the center by March 2007, turning it into one of the company’s main R&D sites, the company said. The China Development Center was set up in September 2004 and primarily serves to develop products for the Chinese market, it said.Symantec did not disclose the level of investment required to meet its staffing goal.As China’s market grows in importance to technology vendors, they have poured money into R&D centers and other facilities, looking to tap local technology expertise and develop products fine-tuned for the local market. The investments also serve a political purpose, winning goodwill by supporting the Chinese government’s stated goal of boosting investment in R&D. In addition to Symantec, several companies have announced plans to step up their R&D efforts in China, including Motorola, Nokia, SAP and Advanced Micro Devices.-Sumner Lemon, IDG News Service (Singapore Bureau) Related Links: Symantec Aims for $10B in Annual Sales by 2010 Symantec Looks to Restore ‘Swagger’ in Europe Intel, Symantec Squeeze Security into Firmware Symantec Taps VeriSign, Accenture to Boost SecurityCheck out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content Feature Industry clouds prove their business value Born of partnerships and ecosystem-centric by their nature, cloud solutions aimed at specific verticals are taking root, forming a complex, rapidly evolving market CIOs must be strategic about entering. By Paula Rooney Mar 24, 2023 7 mins Cloud Computing Feature What is data governance? Best practices for managing data assets Data governance defines roles, responsibilities, and processes for ensuring accountability for and ownership of data assets across the enterprise. By Thor Olavsrud Mar 24, 2023 10 mins IT Governance Frameworks Big Data Data Mining BrandPost Stay in Control of Your Data with a Secure and Compliant Sovereign Cloud By Stan Kwong Mar 23, 2023 6 mins Cloud Security Cloud Computing News Accenture to lay off 19,000 to cut costs amid economic uncertainty Technology services giant Accenture will continue to hire but meanwhile is cutting staff to streamline operations in the face of economic headwinds. By Anirban Ghoshal Mar 23, 2023 2 mins IT Consulting Services Technology Industry Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe