ABSTRACT
This chapter offers problematic, methodology, and theoretical explorations of this research. It points out that studying the political, economic, and ecological reasons for, and the implications of, the significant expansion of the ITP sector in China has broad relevance, both empirically and theoretically. On the one hand, this case focuses on a significant sector that has not yet received enough attention in the literature of land grabbing, and reveals a more complicated role of China in the global land rush. On the other hand, this work links the dynamics of the rise of the ITP sector in Guangxi with the discussions on global land politics and accumulation and dispossession in agrarian transformations. By doing so, it offers a more refined trajectory of global land politics and demonstrates that capital accumulation is possible not only with, but also without, dispossession of villagers. Moreover, this chapter discusses the political economy and political ecology of ITPs, as well as empirical issues related to the agrarian and ecological transformations in China that are relevant to our understanding of the rise of ITPs in the southern part of this country.
