A Comprehensive Evaluation of Regional Industrialization Levels in China

CHEN Jiagui , HUANG Qunhui  and ZHONG Hongwu

 
Editorial note:

Uninterrupted economic structural upgrading, which sets the stage for a steadily accelerating industrialization process, has been a major factor in China’s robust economic growth over the last 20 years or so. However, development gaps between regions are vast, to a large extent due to regional disparities in industrialization level. It is thus important to evaluate and analyze the industrialization progress of each region. This study finds that, firstly, the regional structure of Chinese industrialization in 2004 assumed the shape of a typical pyramid, but was evolving into the shape of an olive; secondly, most regions stepped up industrialization in 1995- 2004 while the gap between developed and less developed regions continued to widen; and thirdly, since 2000, industrial structural upgrading has superseded industrial restructuring in most regions to become the major dynamo for local industrialization. These findings help to clarify the status quo and the economic prospects of different regions in China.

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