China’s New Development Strategies

This book examines China’s new development policies, which seek to reposition China from export platform for a diverse array of low-cost consumer goods to technological leader in sectors linked to advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, e-commerce, and new internet-related production networks oriented to China’s large domestic market. Focusing on the post-2010 period, the book shows how China’s central government programs and reforms (“upgrading from above”) are coupled with a wide variety of local government policies, firm strategies, and domestic economy shifts (“upgrading from below”) that link China’s top-down programs into industrial growth on the ground. Placing China’s current development push within a global value chain (GVC) context shows how Chinese development strategies and the global economy remain intertwined. This volume brings together international GVC experts and China-based researchers who have carried out detailed fieldwork and industry specific quantitative analyses of GVCs and development with important implications for policymakers in both developed and developing economies.

“The nature of modern economic growth is a process of continuous technological innovation and industrial upgrading. China is one of the few developing countries after the World War II to manage this process successfully. Chapters in this volume by a group of global value chain experts provide a careful examination of the respective roles of central and local governments as well as entrepreneurs in China’s dynamic growth process, especially after 2010. A useful book for understanding China’s past performance, prospect for future growth and lessons for other developing countries in the uncertain globalized world.” (Justin Yifu Lin, Dean of the Institute of New Structural Economics at Peking University and Former Chief Economist of the World Bank)

“This edited volume provides a timely analysis of how China is upgrading along GVCs with concrete examples and valuable insights. It shows the Chinese economy is not simply the product of a master plan imposed by the State; the intense competitive forces that play out by various agents at the local levels are central for China’s success in GVCs. It should be of interest to every scholar and policy maker concerned with China’s future roles in GVCs.” (Zhi Wang, Founding Director, Research Institute on GVCs, UIBE, Beijing, China)

Gary Gereffi is Emeritus Professor of Sociology and Director of the Global Value Chains Center at Duke University. He received his B.A. degree from the University of Notre Dame and his Ph.D. degree from Yale University. Gereffi has published over a dozen books and numerous articles on globalization, industrial upgrading, and social and economic development, and he is one of the originators of the global value chains framework. Recent books include: Handbook on Global Value Chains (Stefano Ponte, Gary Gereffi, and Gale Raj-Reichert, co-editors) (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019); Global Value Chains and Development: Redefining the Contours of 21^st Century Capitalism (Cambridge University Press, 2018); and Global Value Chains in a Postcrisis World: A Development Perspective (Olivier Cattaneo, Gary Gereffi, and Cornelia Staritz, co-editors) (The World Bank, 2010).

Penny Bamber is a global value chain specialist, with more than a decade of experience working at the Duke Global Value Chains Center. She has contributed significantly to the development of the global value chain framework, particularly with respect to the intersection between international business and country-level development policy. She has published extensively, contributing to numerous books, reports and journal articles on economic growth and development, technology and skills for the future and the role of gender amongst others. Penny has consulted and provided policy analysis widely for national and international organizations, including the World Bank, the Organization for Economic Cooperation, UNCTAD, ILO, the African Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank.

Karina Fernandez-Stark is an international consultant and a Duke Global Value Chains Center Affiliate, who has led numerous research projects related to economic development and competitiveness around the world. She has consulted for the African Development Bank, ECLAC, Inter-American Development Bank, OECD, UNCTAD and the World Bank, amongst others. Together with Gary Gereffi, Karina authored the highly cited book Global Value Chain Analysis: A Primer. She has published several research reports and articles on industrial upgrading and social and economic development. Her research continuously brings a policy focus advising country governments in different continents. Karina has conducted Global Value Chains workshops in Africa, Asia and the Americas.