Local Industrial Clusters Upgrading Based On GVC

Globalization of world economy and deepening of international division of labor promotes the formation and development of Chinese local industrial clusters. These clusters have played a positive role in local and national economic growth, employment, exports and industrial upgrading. To face the opportunities and challenges brought by globalization, the clusters in China require positive interaction with global production networks.The theory tool of global value chain (GVC) provides a new way of thinking for clusters to take part in the global competition. This paper begins with reviewing the theory of GVC and the global perspective of industrial clusters and summarizing the intrinsic link between them; then by using the driving force and governance theory of GVC, this paper analyses the upgrading problem of local clusters and summarize that different driving forces cause different upgrading paths and different governance models cause different points of emphasis to upgrade; finally, take Changxing battery industrial cluster for example, this paper analyses and summarizes upgrade scheme of local industrial clusters based on GVC and gives upgrading suggestions from different angles of business, industry clusters, industry associations and the government.In short, by using the theory of GVC, this paper extends our vision to upgrade local industrial clusters, especially the local battery industrial cluster.