Global Production Networks. The Case of China

The emergence of global corporate networks that integrate dispersed production, engineering, product development and research activities across geographic borders poses new challenges and opportunities for national industrial and innovation policies. This book is a collection of essays on questions that are of great importance for policy debates and management strategies in emerging economies:• What are the driving forces and characteristics of these global networks?• What do we know about the increasing diversity and complexity of these networks?• What are possible impacts on the geographic distribution of knowledge?• Where does China's ambitious strategy to upgrade its economy through innovation fit into this new geography of innovation?• And what lessons, if any, could be drawn for policies in emerging economies that seek to capture the gains from global network integration?The book has greatly benefited from extremely stimulating discussions during my participation at the Cátedra Extraordinaria México-China in 2015 and during a series of lectures I gave in March 2015. I owe new insights to faculty and students at UNAM about China's role in Latin America, especially in Mexico. A seminar at the Consultative Forum on Science and Technology (an independent relevant group of scientists related to the government) and meetings with information technology industry representatives generated profound brainstorming discussions about Mexico's industrial manufacturing and innovation challenges