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Local Dynamics of Industrial Upgrading pp 1–18Cite as

Introduction

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Part of the book series: Economic Geography ((ECOGEO))

Abstract

Industrial upgrading has been acknowledged as one of the most critical issues for latecomer firms to improve their competitiveness and succeed when they enter the global economy. As a latecomer region, the Pearl River Delta (PRD) in the People’s Republic of China (hereafter China) has been integrated into the global economy since the national ‘open-door’ reform in 1978.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    It refers to the program of economic reforms called ‘Socialism with Chinese characteristics’ in China that were started in December 1978, by reformists within the Communist Party of China led by Deng Xiaoping.

  2. 2.

    The GDP data are at current prices adjusted according to GDP index of Guangdong Province in statistics yearbook with 1980 as the base year.

  3. 3.

    The New York Times report on January 21, 2012, available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/business/apple-america-and-a-squeezed-middle-class.html?_r=2&ref=general&src=me&pagewanted=all.

  4. 4.

    Apple’s Report of Supplier Responsibility in 2011, available at: http://www.apple.com/supplierresponsibility/.

  5. 5.

    Source of LOT’s information: a Chinese news analysis from 21 Century Economic Broadcast published on September 17, 2010, at: http://www.21cbh.com/HTML/2010-7-19/4MMDAwMDE4NzM4MQ_3.html.

  6. 6.

    News reports from Shenzhen’s official website, available at: http://www.sznews.com/zhuanti/content/2009-04/21/content_3710541.htm.

  7. 7.

    Yangchen Evening Paper, news report on 4 July 2011, available at: http://news.iqilu.com/china/gedi/2011/0704/500882.html.

  8. 8.

    The Foxconn suicides occurred between January and November, 2010, when eighteen Foxconn employees attempted suicide with fourteen deaths. See a detailed analysis on Financial Times by John Gapper on September 21, 2011, at: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/9f0fb872-d88e-11e0-8f0a-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1lhi1lwn9.

  9. 9.

    It means moving low skilled labor out and attracting new talents in. See: http://www.gd.gov.cn/gdgk/gdyw/201106/t20110617_144739.htm.

  10. 10.

    It means releasing lands from low value-added manufacturing to accommodate more high value-added industries (see http://www.gd.gov.cn/ghgy/ywsd/201108/t20110831_148650.htm).

  11. 11.

    An official news report on the progress of regional upgrading, available at: http://www.gov.cn/jrzg/2011-03/25/content_1831697.htm.

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  1. School of Tourism Management, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China

    Yi Liu

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Liu, Y. (2020). Introduction. In: Local Dynamics of Industrial Upgrading. Economic Geography. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4297-8_1

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