Upgrading Of China Research Articles

The Interplay of Innovative Urban Planning Approaches and Economic Upgrading in China: The Case of Guangzhou Mega-City

This paper interlinks new spatial planning strategies, such as urban and intra-urban rescaling and strategic planning, against the background of political economic upgrading programs as in the case of Guangzhou mega-city. Global and domestic competition force China's metropolises to constantly reorient themselves and adapt their urban development strategies. In the Pearl River Delta, the restructuring process from basic manufacturing to modern service and high-tech industries with higher added-value has already been going on for some time. The main hypothesis of this paper is that this upgrading of industrial structures and urban policies aimed at enhancing economic competitiveness in general are both important drivers for administrative rescaling on the municipal and intra-urban levels, for the implementation of increasingly strategic urban planning approaches and for organizational innovations. In mega-cities such as Guangzhou, this development coincides with a rising significance of urban districts in the urban planning hierarchy. We show how this happens by analyzing urban policies regarding the reform of administrative powers granted to Guangzhou Development District (GDD). In the course of this change, the GDD administration was upgraded from the status of a state manager of a development zone to that of a district governing authority in 2005. It is now responsible for comprehensive urban management. This paper is based on extensive literature review and field observation as well as expert and stakeholder interviews.

Global Production Network and the Upgrading of China's Integrated Circuit Industry

AbstractUsing an analytical framework of the global production network (GPN), the present paper examines the external environment and the internal dynamics of China s integrated circuit (IC) industry. We analyze the transition of China s IC industry from a state‐led integrated device manufacturers' model to deeper integration into the GPN. We also explore the technological sources, the upgrading dynamics as well as the positioning of different nodes of China s IC industry in the GPN. We conclude that the “East Asia model” of gradual industrial upgrading might not apply anymore in the new era of GPN. High‐technology industries can now be upgraded based on a parallel evolution model. Policy implications for China's high‐technology industrial upgrading strategies are drawn from our analysis.

Technological structure and its upgrading in China's exports

Based on several indexes, this article investigates technological upgrading in China's exports. It demonstrates that the whole technological contents of China's exports have been improved dramatically since the early 1980s. In the meantime, the domestic technological contents are likely experiencing a V-curve, i.e. decreasing first and then increasing later. Native enterprises grow faster than their foreign direct investment (FDI) counterparts through ‘learning-by-doing’, and the gap between them is narrowing. It is shown that China's exports have adopted a limited catch-up strategy rather than solely following its comparative advantage. Under the limited catch-up strategy, China exports products with technological contents higher than what was predicted by its comparative advantage. In addition, the experience of South Korea and Taiwan as well as cross-country comparison demonstrates that adopting a limited catch-up strategy is conducive to economic development. We argue that this is what is taking place in China.

China's national system of innovation and uneven technological trajectory

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the limitations of the national system of innovation (NSI) approach in countries in developing economies with at best incomplete sets of market institutions.Design/methodology/approachThis paper employed a grounded theory approach using semi‐structured interviews to explore a case study of one industry segment (the IC design industry segment) in one developing economy, China.FindingsThis paper argues that developing countries have institutions beyond the national system that can affect science and technology activities. Owing to co‐ethnic transnational technology networks and the politics of finance, China's firms experience distinct patterns of performance not explained by the NSI framework. A particular type of foreign firm, the hybrid foreign‐invested enterprise, combines foreign finance with commitment to China to drive China's technological development. Other firms, particularly those closely tied to the Chinese state, contribute less or even negatively to China's development. Strong ties to the state in the context of China actually undermine the incentive for innovation.Originality/valueThis paper deconstructs both NSI and the idea of national political economies more broadly. The paper also offers value in presenting a detailed case study of on‐the‐ground innovation and upgrading in China.

Development Models and Industrial Upgrading in China and Mexico

China and Mexico have both pursued export-oriented development strategies in the global economy, but with different implications for national development and industrial upgrading. While Mexico has been the paradigm for the neoliberal (‘Washington consensus’) development model associated with foreign direct investment, extensive privatization, and open markets, China has attained record levels of foreign capital inflows and export growth utilizing a more strategic, statist approach to its development. In the past decade, China has surpassed Mexico in their battle for pre-eminence in the US market. One of the keys to China’s success has been a unique form of industrial organization called supply-chain cities, which has permitted it to achieve both economies of scale and scope in global value chains.

China's Trade Acceleration and the Deepening of an East Asian Regional Production Network

AbstractChina's recent surge in trade has been associated with its deepening but contrasting trade relations with its two groups of key trading partners. On the one hand, China's trade surpluses with the USA and the EU have risen rapidly, reaching US$144bn and US$91bn in 2006, respectively. On the other hand, China is importing heavily from its Asian neighbors. This diverging pattern of trade relations between China and its main trading partners reflects the continuous expansion and intensification of a complex cross‐border production network in Asia, particularly for consumer electronics. In the process of deepening manufacturing sharing, China serves as an essential export platform for firms headquartered in the more advanced economies. These firms export intermediate goods from the relatively more advanced Asian economies to their affiliates in China where these inputs are assembled and then shipped to key export markets, including primarily the USA and the EU. One apparent outcome of the growing processing and assembly trade is the increased interdependency among Asian economies, which are now more dependent on each other than ever. It has also led to substantial structural changes and technological upgrading in China's traded goods.

Relationships between Urbanization Levels and the Industrial Structure of the Labor Force

Previous articleNext article No AccessRelationships between Urbanization Levels and the Industrial Structure of the Labor ForceHazel MoirHazel Moir Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Economic Development and Cultural Change Volume 25, Number 1Oct., 1976 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/450932 Views: 12Total views on this site Citations: 10Citations are reported from Crossref Copyright 1976 The University of ChicagoPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Fang Wang, Ming-Hua Tian, Zhong-Hua Yin Modern urbanization and industrial upgrading in China: evidence from panel data, Quality & Quantity 55, no.22 (Jul 2020): 661–681.https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-020-01022-5Naoki Murakami Changes in Japanese industrial structure and urbanization: evidence from prefectural data, Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy 20, no.33 (Jun 2015): 385–403.https://doi.org/10.1080/13547860.2015.1054166George Pomeroy A Spatio-Temporal, Functional Classification of Indian Cities, (Jan 2004): 137–167.https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-2531-9_9Gavin W Jones Urbanization Issues in the Asian-Pacific Region, Asian-Pacific Economic Literature 5, no.22 (Sep 1991): 5–33.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8411.1991.tb00047.xS.N. Eisenstadt Origins of the West, Cultural Dynamics 3, no.22 (Jun 1990): 119–153.https://doi.org/10.1177/092137409000300202Noshir S. Contractor, Arvind Singhal, Everett M. Rogers Metatheoretical perspectives on satellite television and development in India, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 32, no.22 (Mar 1988): 129–148.https://doi.org/10.1080/08838158809386690York W. Bradshaw Overurbanization and underdevelopment in Sub-Saharan Africa: A cross-national study, Studies In Comparative International Development 20, no.33 (Sep 1985): 74–101.https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02687083Henry Bienen Urbanization and third world stability, World Development 12, no.77 (Jul 1984): 661–691.https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-750X(84)90081-0Michael Timberlake, Jeffrey Kentor Economic Dependence, Overurbanization, and Economic Growth: A Study of Less Developed Countries, The Sociological Quarterly 24, no.44 (Dec 2016): 489–507.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1533-8525.1983.tb00715.x G. Rodney Thompson , and Andrew J. Stollar An Empirical Test of an International Model of Relative Tertiary Employment, Economic Development and Cultural Change 31, no.44 (Oct 2015): 775–785.https://doi.org/10.1086/451357