China’s New Development Strategies : Upgrading from Above and from Below in Global Value Chains

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.