As the rest of the world struggles with economic uncertainty, China seems immune to the pressures affecting most stock markets and the global banking system.

Microsoft’s (MS’s) Chairman of China R&D announced yesterday that the company will spend (US)$1 billion on research and development in China over the next three years.

“This spending is mainly targeted at staffing and resources for R&D; it does not include mergers and acquisitions,” Zhang told reporters.

Even before this announcement, China was already MS’s second largest R&D location, after the U.S. MS has already announced an investment of (US)$300 million for a new China R&D centre in Bejing.