Despite U.S. travel advisories cautioning against visits to SARS-hit countries like China, company president and chief operating officer Mike Zafirovski made a one-day stop in the mainland to announce the investment last Saturday.
On top of the initial US$90 million investment, Motorola said in a statement that its new research center will also spend US$500 million on manpower and equipment over the next five years.
"My presence here demonstrates both Motorola’s concern for its employees as well as our confidence in China's ability to fight the spread of SARS," said Zafirovski.
"China is an important market for Motorola worldwide as well as a manufacturing base and research center for the company," he added.
Despite trailing Finnish phone giant Nokia in other parts of the world, Motorola continues to enjoy a dominant market position in China. The firm is currently one of the mainland's largest overseas investors in with 18 regional or global research and development centers and another seven under construction.
In the past few months however, fierce competition from Chinese cell phone manufacturers has started to erode the firm's market share, prompting Motorola to step up its product launches in the country.
Besides unveiling the new research venture on Saturday, the firm also donated RMB$11.8 million (US$ 1.4 million) worth of equipment and cash to Chinese authorities to help combat the deadly SARS virus.
To date, the disease has claimed 284 lives in China and a further 5,233 have been diagnosed with the virus.
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