Regional Shifts in China's Industrial Output

Abstract

China's industrial output is large and has grown rapidly since 1950. The communist government which took power in 1949 sought to decentralize industry to the interior. Analysis of gross provincial industrial output data based on information statistics indicated a period of increasing industrial concentration from 1952–1957. Thereafter gross industrial output decentralized. Specific industries, however, displayed different spatial patterns. Steel, for example, has become more concentrated, whereas chemical fertilizers and cement showed remarkably dispersed patterns. The patterns reflect a dual structure of industrial production comprised of large, modern, efficient plants and small, less efficient plants producing for local consumption.

Forging Ahead and Falling Behind: Changing Regional Inequalities in Post‐reform China

“…The coastal area of the country had traditionally been more developed than its interior due both to differences in region-specific production factors, and over a century of foreign colonial influence before 1949. The communist government added considerable industrial capacity to the inland provinces in an effort to redress the inherited unevenness in development, but it achieved only a limited, if any, success in reducing the long-standing east-west disparity in the country (Donnithorne 1972(Donnithorne , 1976Lardy 1976Lardy , 1978Lardy , 1980Pannell 1988;Yang 1990Yang , 1991Wei and Ma 1996). The rigid central planning system implemented during the first three decades of communist rule, particularly the egalitarianism in income distribution, disguised the quite substantial regional differences in economic strength and infrastructure.…”

Regional disparities in China's urbanisation: An examination of trends 1982–2007

“…The effects of these policies and plans are observed in multiple dimensions of China's regional development. Past research findings confirm that regional disparities exist, among others, in economic development (Pannell, 1988;Han and Ofori, 2001); households' income (Khan et al, 1993); residents' consumption (Lee, 2000); infrastructure provision (Han, 1997); urban real estate development (Han, 1998); and privatisation (Han and Pannell, 1999).…”

Regional inequality in China

“…Influenced by socialist ideology and egalitarian ideas, Mao tried to develop the backward inland areas and to reduce regional inequality. Most maintain that regional inequality declined as a result of the implementation of distributive policies, especially inter-regional resource transfers to interior regions through centralized fiscal and investment systems (Lardy, 1975;1978;Paine, 1981;Wu, 1987;Guo, 1988;Pannell, 1988;Yang, 1990). The interaction between the coast and the interior was one of the 'ten great relationships' proposed by Mao (1956).…”

“…They argue instead that regional inequality has actually declined since the initiation of economic reforms, mainly as a result of diffusion, inter-regional resource transfer and rural industrialization (Pannell, 1988;Denny, 1991;Lyons, 1991;Tsui, 1991;Huo, 1994;Chen and Fleisher, 1996;Jian et al, 1996). They argue instead that regional inequality has actually declined since the initiation of economic reforms, mainly as a result of diffusion, inter-regional resource transfer and rural industrialization (Pannell, 1988;Denny, 1991;Lyons, 1991;Tsui, 1991;Huo, 1994;Chen and Fleisher, 1996;Jian et al, 1996).…”