China's place in global divisions of labour: a combined and uneven development perspective

Abstract

By examining the contradictions in China’s model of growth and the shifting dynamics of its place in the global division of labour, the aim of this paper is to understand the tensions in the class relations that underpin the Chinese ‘success story’. The theoretical lens will be that of uneven and combined development. The notion of ‘combined’ informs the way in which China’s integration with global capitalism and global circuits of capital has been a major source of its meteoric growth, but has increased its economic vulnerability, particularly after the 2008 crisis. The element of unevenness explores the differentiation between and within sectors and regions, and the way that the inherent dynamics of equalisation and differentiation, and the role of labour within these processes, underpin the dynamics of China’s insertion into the global divisions of labour.