Changes in China's Space Economy Since the Reform

This chapter analyzes the major changes in China's space economy since the initiation of reform. Although much research has focused on changes in China's regional inequalities, little attention has been paid to other dimensions of China's changing spatial economic pattern. The chapter discusses the regional dimensions of China's economic reform and the widening gap between the coast and inland areas. It explains the forces that shape regional specialization. The chapter analyzes the trend toward specialization and also discusses the axial shift in China's space economy. The new development strategy implemented in China since the reform not only has led to widening coast-inland disparities and increased regional specialization but may have also altered the roles different regions play in the national economy. The rise of south China, particularly Guangdong province, may be one of the most remarkable stories in China's regional development since the reform.