Juniper Opens China R&D Site

In its second move in Asia in as many years, Juniper Networks plans to open a new R&D center in Beijing, China. Opening by year-end, the company said it plans to hire 100 or more local research staff by 2006, and to work closely with several nearby universities.

The move, and last year's opening of an R&D operation in Bangalore India is part of the "internationalization of our research and development strategy," said Scott Kriens, chairman, at a Beijing press conference.

The China site will focus on developing network and security solutions for small-and-medium-sized businesses around the world. It also may develop entirely new product lines, a Juniper spokesperson confirmed. The spokesperson said that the new facility also is likely to support Juniper's "product position" in China, and may become involved in "potential business partnerships" or relationships with local vendors.

Kriens said the China R&D center also will "leverage" the Chinese origins of Netscreen Technologies, the network security solutions firm that Juniper acquired earlier this year.

While 90 percent of staff at the center will be hired locally, Juniper executives confirmed that a few Chinese-speaking professionals will be redeployed there from U.S. facilities.