Abstract
This chapter sets out to analyze urban development and branding strategies for emerging global cities in China. It takes as its starting point that there has been a shift from a focus on economic dimensions towards a global city discourse in which various dimensions are at play, including economic, cultural, social and environmental. The empirical focus is five large, globalizing Chinese cities, namely Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. The findings show that multidimensionality, and hence being a center of not only economy and finance but of multiple elements (such as those pertaining to culture, social factors, and the environment) increasingly defines emerging global cities in China, as well as tomorrow’s global cities.
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Appendix. Description of Variables and Data Sources
Appendix. Description of Variables and Data Sources
Variables | Description | Source |
---|---|---|
Inequality index | Theil’s T index | China Statistical Yearbooks, 1998, 2000, 2005, 2008 |
Creative sector | The percentage of urban private employment in the creative sector | China Statistical Yearbooks, 1998, 2000, 2005, 2008 |
Manufacturing | The percentage of urban private employment in manufacturing | China Statistical Yearbooks, 1998, 2000, 2005, 2008 |
Migration | The percentage of population without official local registration status (hukou) | China Statistical Yearbooks, 1998, 2005, 2008, and 2000 census |
Trade | The ratio of total value of imports and exports trade to gross regional product | China Statistical Yearbooks, 1998, 2000, 2005, 2008 |
High-tech industries | The ratio of gross output of high-tech industries to gross regional industrial product | China Statistical Yearbooks and China Statistics Yearbook on High-Technology Industry 1998, 2000, 2005, 2008 |
State-owned enterprises | The percentage of urban employment in state owned enterprises (SOE) | China Statistical Yearbooks, 1998, 2000, 2005, 2008 |
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Liu, C.Y., Xie, W. (2018). Creativity and Inequality: The Dual Path of China’s Urban Development. In: Ye, L. (eds) Urbanization and Urban Governance in China. Governing China in the 21st Century. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-57824-2_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-57824-2_6
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