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 ("upgrade from above") are coupled with a wide variety of local government policies, firm strategies, and domestic economy shifts ("upgrade 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. Understanding the goals and challenges of China's multifaceted industrial policies could not be more important in the current context as tensions rise between China and its major trading partners and COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt GVCs. 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.