The geographical foundations of local state initiatives: globalizing Tianjin, China

Abstract

While a large body of literature has dealt with the process of globalization and the formation of global cities, recent scholarly efforts have begun to examine global city regions, emerging global cities, and globalizing cities. In this paper, through a case study of Tianjin, a traditional industrial city near Beijing, we will unfold the process of reforms and globalization in Chinese cities, the efforts of governments in liberalization and globalization, and the challenges facing globalizing cities in China. We attempt to contribute to the understanding of the process and mechanisms of globalizing cities in developing countries, and thereby add an important dimension to the global city canon. We will show in this paper that despite liberalization and globalization, the Chinese local state is still taking an active role in initiating policies to accelerate urban growth and globalization, and remains an important agent of urban and regional change. Moreover, Tianjin’s globalization efforts face numerous constraints. While acknowledging the role of the state, we argue that local governments do not act in a vacuum, but have to rely on forces operating at global, national, and local scales. In other words, there are strong geographical foundations for the formation and successful implementation of local development initiatives.

Introduction

An extensive amount of literature has dealt with the impact of globalization on cities and the formation and functions of global/world cities. Global cities are settings for globalization and the global–local interface, basing points of transnational corporations (TNCs), and command centers for the global economy (Friedmann, 1986, Knox and Taylor, 1995, Sassen, 1991). They are symbolized by the concentration of TNC headquarters, the lifestyles of the rich and the famous, and glorious skylines. Global city status has become a goal pursued by many large cities in both developed and developing countries.

The literature on global cities has been expanded to global city regions, emerging global cities, and globalizing cities (Marcuse and van Kempen, 2000, Scott, 2001). An emerging body of literature has attempted to capture the formation and policy initiatives of the emerging global cities in Asia (Yeung and Lo, 1998). Many governments in Asia have implemented a series of policies to globalize their cities, and the competition to become one of Asia’s global cities has been unprecedented. Singapore’s “global reach” project intends to build Singapore into a global city of Asia, and Hong Kong’s strategic plan aims to establish the city as Asia’s world city as well, to name just two situations (Yeung and Olds, 2001).

Chinese cities and regions have been undergoing dramatic reform and globalization since the launch of reforms in the late 1970s. Traditional industrial cities, dominated by state-owned enterprises (SOEs), are being challenged by cities undergoing more rapid liberalization and globalization. With decentralization and the push for growth, Chinese cities have stressed the infusion of foreign direct investment (FDI) and the globalization of economic activities, and are increasingly competing with each other over policies, resources, and opportunities. Many large cities in China, including Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Talian, Wuhan, Chongqing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, have announced aggressive measures to build themselves into global cities and move up in the global urban hierarchy. Shanghai in particular has been undergoing dramatic restructuring towards remaking it as a global city, with massive state and foreign investments (Wu, 2000). Beijing has also been taking bold steps to elevate itself to global city status: successful bidding for the 2008 Olympic Games, the claim of Zhongguangcun as China’s “Silicon Valley”, the construction of a new financial center, massive infrastructural investment, and efforts to build a world-class central business district (CBD).

This paper analyzes the development and globalization process of Tianjin, one of the most important industrial cities in China, which functioned traditionally as the gate to Beijing—an emerging global city. Through the study of Tianjin, we will unfold the process of reforms and globalization in Chinese cities, efforts of governments in liberalization and globalization, and the challenges facing globalizing cities of China. We view the development process of Tianjin in light of globalization and China’s transition from state socialism, and analyze forces operating at varied geographical scales: global investors, national policy, and local factors.

Our paper highlights three positions related to current geographical and social science research on globalization and the city. First, since most prior research emphasizes global cities in the developed world, we focus more specifically on globalizing cities in China/Asia. As criticized by Yeung and Olds (2001), the global city/world city discourse is too dependent upon a theoretically globalist perspective that is derived out of empirical studies of a small sample of major cities within western countries, and focuses too much upon the characteristics of, and the processes creating, those global cities. Many unanswered questions remain, such as the responses of cities in developing countries to globalization, the typology of emerging global cities, the role of the state, and the governance of globalizing cities. We will discuss four historical phases of development and restructuring in Tianjin (pre-colonial, colonial, socialist, and transition) in the context of broad economic restructuring in China, and in its changing global and local environments. Such an emphasis should add an important dimension to the understanding of the process and mechanisms of globalizing cities in developing countries.

Second, the neo-liberal literature holds that globalization represents the triumph of global capitalism and transnational institutions over national economies, nation-states, and local identity. The “hollowing out” thesis and the notion of a borderless world have been heavily criticized by many scholars, who have argued for the role of nation states and the geographical unevenness of the globalization process (e.g., Cox, 1997, Grant and Nijman, 2002). Through an analysis of the development process and policies in Tianjin, we will illustrate that, despite liberalization and globalization, governments in China are still taking active roles in initiating policies to deal with growth and globalization, and remain an important agent of urban and regional change. The intensified competition between local states of China results from decentralization and the pro-growth policies of the central government on one hand, and globalization and the accelerated circulation of capital, people, and commodities across the global economic space on the other. We will analyze in detail the efforts and policies of the local government in Tianjin in reforming and globalizing the city.

Third, intense debates also exist among researchers of former socialist countries regarding the nature of transition and the role of the state (Lin and Wei, 2002). Contrary to the hollowing out thesis, many scholars working on China have emphasized the role of states. Oi (1992) considers China’s economic transition as a process of decentralization, during which local states have taken the lead in economic development, giving rise to local state corporatism. Solinger (1996) blames the relative decline of Wuhan to the absence of central government policy, and Cheung (1998) attributes the struggle of Tianjin to the lack of entrepreneurial leadership. While we concur with researchers about the important role of the state in China, we highlight that governments do not act in a vacuum. The design and successful implementation of local development policies are embedded in location, geographical differentiation, and the transcendence of geographical scales (Wei, 2002). A series of urban and regional constraints in particular can limit the functioning of local states and the contents, implementation, and achievement of local development policies.

These arguments reinforce the indispensable role of geography in conceptualizing economic globalization. Yeung (2001) argues that economic globalization is an inherently geographical phenomenon in relation to (1) spatial differentiation as preconditions, (2) the transcendence and switchability of geographical scales, and (3) discursive practices as socio-spatial constructions. Our positions also build upon the long lasting work of geographers on geographical embeddedness, the power of place, and the re-scaling of territorial organizations (e.g., Ma and Xiang, 1998, Brenner, 1999). We will illustrate the constraints on the development of Tianjin, and assert geographical foundations in the formation and implementation of local state initiatives to properly situate the role of the state.