China as the Workshop of the World ─ An analysis at the national and industrial level of China in the international division of labor

Is China becoming the "workshop of the world" in the same way as Britain and the United States once were; or is China – as some multinational companies believe – simply a processing segment in global production networks? This book examines China’s role in the international division of labor: it analyzes the scale and scope of China’s manufacture; the type and relative sophistication of its exports in the world market; and its position in the global value chain. It shows that China monopolizes industrial production by being the processing center of world.

Based on extensive original research, this book examines the structure of production in global manufacturing industries, applying both qualitative and quantitative methods. It analyzes each segment of the value chain, exploring in depth several specific industrial sectors. It concludes that China has become deeply integrated into global manufacturing industry; that China’s position in the value chain is still quite low, with relatively low research and development (R&D) and other similar high-value activities; but that, in some sectors, China is catching up rapidly, especially in newly emerging sectors.

Yuning Gao is Post-Doctoral Research Associate at the Winton Center for Financial History, University of Cambridge, UK.