GVC Seminar Series No. 7

China’s Domestic Production Network

Quanrun Chen^a, Yuning Gao^b, Jiansuo Pei^a, Gaaitzen de Vries^a,c, Fei Wang^a

^a University of International Business and Economics, Beijing

^b Tsinghua University, Beijing

^c Groningen Growth and Development Centre (GGDC), University of Groningen, Groningen

Venue: Keyan 429 (科研楼配楼429) Time: Feb. 28^th 1:30 to 3:00pm

Abstract

This paper documents the evolution of China’s domestic production network. Chinese firms substitute domestic for imported intermediate inputs, yet what is the geography and the nature of the activities performed? We combine information on the occupations of workers by province-industry with new inter-provincial input-output tables based on value-added tax transactions data for 2002 and 2012. We find production processes fragmented within China. There is surprising heterogeneity in specialization across regions. Large urban regions like Beijing and Shanghai are heavily specialized in headquarter activities with Beijing focusing more on R&D and Shanghai most specialised in marketing. Most of the other regions are specialised in fabrication activities. Our results are suggestive of a regional division of labour within China with coastal regions orchestrating production networks that reach ever deeper into the inland regions.

主讲人简介：

Gaaitzen de Vries is associate professor at the department of Global Economics and Management of the University of Groningen and special term visiting professor of Global Value Chains at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. 

Gaaitzen is a member of the Groningen Growth and Development Centre. His research is mostly on topics that fit in the fields of International Economics and Development Economics. He (co-) authored articles that appeared in peer-reviewed international journals such as the American Economic Review, the Journal of Economic Perspectives, the Journal of Development Economics, and the Journal of Economic Geography.