City-regional governance under state entrepreneurialism in China

Abstract

Facing de-globalisation, changing international politics, climate changes and new smart technologies in the post-pandemic era, city-regions become important spaces for economic, social and environmental governance. In China, this new city-regional form of governance is created under state entrepreneurialism, which means the state uses entrepreneurial endeavours to achieve its strategic vision and intention. The processes of city-region building include centralising the spatial planning system, inventing new spatial discourses, representing regional imaginaries and restructuring the state towards ecological goals. Instead of market-driven regional dynamics or redistributive politics, China’s city-regional governance demonstrates the role of the multi-scalar state in constructing and implementing economic, social and environmental policies at a regional scale.

Migration and migrants in Chinese cities: New trends, challenges and opportunities to theorise with urban China

“…Lin (2023, this issue) examines the residential mobility of intra- and inter-provincial migrants, thereby highlighting the importance of regional differences such as different dialects or local customs. Furthermore, Tang et al (2023, this issue) focuses on a growing employment sector that has many rural migrant employees, namely the food delivery sector, and examines their motivation in joining this industry. Whilst the growing awareness of China’s diverse migrant population is encouraging, there remains a lot of work to be done.…”

“…These jobs often have low entry requirements and are practised by both urban residents and migrants alike. In response to this growing industry, Tang et al, (2023, this issue) explore the livelihood of food delivery workers in Chinese cities and compare the reasons why locals, urban and rural migrants work in this industry and their socio-economic conditions. The study reveals that rural migrants are in a much more precarious situation because they tend work in food delivery as a last resort, whereas locals and urban migrants use this as an additional source of income or a temporary employment whilst finding a better job.…”