Chinese economic transformation, uneven regional development, and the Shenshen special economic zone

This thesis examines the role played by cities in the People's Republic of China's (PRC) economic development and urbanization trends over the last 45 years or so, with special reference to uneven regional development and the growth of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone (SSEZ). The Chinese government has developed an extensive, modern external sector in the economy which has been actively implemented in fourteen cities along China's Pacific coastline and in the four Special Economic Zones. It has also opened three huge deltas in the Pacific coastal areas to further direct investment. After a review of the relevant theoretical literature, a comparison is made between the role of cities in the Maoist period of development and the post-1978 Dengist regime. Since the political and economic reforms of 1978, China's coastal cities, including the SSEZ, have served as a catalyst of economic development. The Renaissance of the coastal regions in the 1980s through the prominence of the Special Economic Zones has been particularly instructive in explaining inland-to-coastal migration and the persistence of uneven regional development in China. For the most part, Chinese economic reform in the post-Maoist era has meant regional discontinuities, a high concentration of growth in a few large urban areas, and a lagging rural economy that remains in many respects backward. Thus, the 'economic gap’ in wealth and incomes between the hinterland and the coast has widened. Moreover, the rapid development of Shenzhen has led to exponential economic growth which has been accompanied by inequalities that have impacted on the living and working situations of migrant workers in the area. From the empirical evidence provided, the thesis concludes that cities have played a key role in the post-reform era, as demonstrated by the way in which the People's Republic has opened up to the outside world. With China's efforts to court the inflow of foreign direct investment and technology, the development of cities in every class size will prove to be more crucial to Chinese economic transformation and regional development. However, special attention is needed to ameliorate the problems associated with rapid urban growth and regional inequality.Arts, Faculty ofPolitical Science, Department ofGraduat