Issue 6, 2023

“Upgrading”China: Searching for New Drivers of Development

Contents

▍Overseas

TikTok Series under Great Power Competition Chen Liang

▍Cover Story: Upgrading China — Searching for New Development Momentum

The Secret of China's Electric Vehicle Rise Gao Bai

The “Hefei Model”: A New Type of Local Developmentalism

Hefei's economic miracle is credited to the “Hefei model”, which can be seen as a new style of local developmentalism. It relies on government equity investment and industry chain matching between chain leader and core suppliers. This model didn't arise solely from Hefei's government but evolved from collaboration between the entrepreneurial government and innovative firms, rooted in the home appliance industry's needs and BOE's investments. Hefei's government adapted and expanded this model for new industries. While it serves as a guide for other regions, adopting it requires tailoring to their unique industry structure and internal demands. 

How Skills Upgrading Match Industrial Upgrading? — Shifting from State-led to Enterprise-demand Xu Hui, Ji Yutong

In the course of China's economic transformation towards a capital and technology-intensive model, a paramount imperative arises in the form of harnessing human capital dividends. This imperative necessitates an enhancement of the skills of the workforce through educational and training endeavors. In recent years, the Chinese government has undertaken significant initiatives to bolster the supply of skilled workforce, primarily through the reform of vocational education systems. However, empirical research conducted underscores that state-led mechanisms for skill formation face practical challenges owing to deep-rooted institutional disparities between the realms of industry and education integration. Consequently, it becomes imperative to advocate for a market-driven paradigm that entails the active involvement enterprises, training institutions, and vocational schools.

Taming Modularization: The Political Economy of Policy Paradigm Shifts Song Lei  

▍Policy

The 'Big Picture' Thinking of Economic Growth—Why Should NOT Panic about Government Debt Xu Zhun

In this article, I examine some of the major issues in contemporary China’s economy and government finance. Based on China’s recent data and the relevant episodes in the history of China, the USA and the USSR, I argue that it is crucial for China to launch major public investment programs to maintain a reasonable level of capital accumulation and economic growth. I further argue that fiscal conservatism and excessive marketization have in fact caused part of the problems in government finance and economic growth since 2008.

▍World View

From Pyramidal World-Systems to Networked Globalization Wang Xiangsui

▍Special Issue: Football and Society

Embedded in Society: China's “Social Football” Strategic Development Report The Longway Foundation

The Formation of Modern China's “Football Town”: a Western Sport in Meixian Guangdong Zhao Zheng

▍New Multinational Corporation

China’s Approach for Digital TV Penetration in Africa Zhai Xiufeng, Wang Weijia

The availability and connectivity of communication remain the most fundamental issues in Africa. The lack of communication infrastructure has limited cultural inclusion, educational development, industrial cultivation and social governance, and has made the vision of pan-African interconnection bleak. European and American media groups have chosen a TV market strategy that targets few high-consuming groups, excluding most ordinary people. While Chinese companies has significantly reduced TV fees, allowing ordinary people to watch digital TV, breaking the monopoly and creating new spaces for digital development. Based on field researches in four East African countries, this article analyzes the unique model of Chinese communication enterprises entering Africa and how to promote pan-African digital connectivity in an unbalanced information geopolitical landscape.

▍Focus

Difficult Development Amidst Sanctions — An Analysis of Entity List and Associated Companies Zhang Si, Lin Zhengyu, Tang Zhongzhu

This paper adopts the big data collection and knowledge discovery strategies to construct a comprehensive network model that includes blacklisted firms and their affiliates. Based on this model, this paper explores the specific impact of technology sanctions on the sanctioned enterprises in China under the background of Sino-US decoupling, and gives possible suggestions for enterprises to take countermeasures. The conclusion points out that China's industrial subjects should focus on the integration of industrial R&D, factor market construction and diversification to ensure the key technologies could be self-supported and controllable.

▍County Research

Small County, Big City: The Future Outlook of a New-type Urbanization? Zhou Li  Luo Jianzhang

The “Industrial Transfer Trap” in Underdeveloped Counties Li Ting

▍Classics Revisited

The Genesis of “Fengqiao Experience”  Lin Xinchen

The report from the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China emphasized the continued application and development of the “Fengqiao Experience” to advance community-level governance in the new era. Understanding the genesis of “Fengqiao Experience” elucidates how the Party promotes social construction through implementing the mass line. This article analyzes the genesis process of the "Fengqiao Experience" from the perspective of political sociology, ponders how the CPC can extract typical experiences through the practice of social construction, and then elaborates on the logic and significance of typical experiences.