Industrial Development and Spatial Structure in Changzhou City, China: The Restructuring of the Sunan Model

Abstract

This study investigates the transition of Sunan, located in China's southern Jiangsu Province, China using the orthodox Sunan model of development through a case study of Changzhou City. We found that post-Sunan development retains some of the characteristics of the orthodox Sunan model, and the current production map of Sunan is a combination of new development and the legacies of the development and restructuring of township and village enterprises (TVEs). We have identified the emergence of a new form of core-periphery uneven development, indicating that agglomeration is a pervasive force in production and that globalization is centralizing resources as well as development. We also traced the continuous involvement of local states in economic development and discovered evidence of policy convergence in coastal China. The dominance of manufacturing in the economy of Changzhou provides on-the-ground evidence concerning the rise of China as the global manufacturing floor. However, Changzhou's industry is still mainly made up of traditional industries that exhibit industrial isomorphism and a dispersed spatial layout. Industrial development in Changzhou has been handicapped by its semi-peripheral location in the Yangzi River Delta, less successful local policies, and the legacies of the Sunan model.