Foreign Investment along the Lower Yangzi: Nanjing 1988–93

Abstract

China's approach to restructuring from a state-socialist-run economy to one based upon market forces is an ongoing process with a number of adjustments. Adjustments reflect pressures arising from foreign investors, economic bottlenecks, management, and labour as well as from local, regional, and national political interests. Spatial reallocation of resources and opportunities has enabled China to sustain rapid growth without major internal constraints. Nanjing is a case in point. Investment patterns reflect a regional variation in development but, notwithstanding local inputs, the end result fits in with the overarching federal model. Expansion in the Nanjing region is driven by foreign investors searching for new opportunities and the need for state enterprises to restructure. Growth is diversified among a number of sectors and balanced between the domestic and foreign markets. Management and technological transfers are providing a solid foundation for continued expansion. Nanjing appears to have found a niche in the Yangzi basin as a regional centre and possibly as a future gateway city.