Synopses & Reviews
The Chinese province of Yunnan has been undergoing a dynamic process of repositioning, from a Southwestern periphery of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) to a “bridgehead” between China and its neighbors in Southeast and South Asia. This repositioning has found expression in ideas about the province's geopolitical positioning, policy frameworks, involvement in transborder institutions, infrastructure development and commerce.
The author, Tim Summers, traces this process and its implications, demonstrating the extent of provincial agency in reform-era China and the growing global importance of "'south-south" economic and commercial interactions. The introductory chapters overview China's changing global relationships, summarize Yunnan's history and key elements in its regional and global interactions and outline the development since the 1980s of ideas concerning Yunnan's geopolitical positioning. The next three chapters consider three main areas of political economy in turn: transnational institutions, infrastructure and transport development and regional and bilateral ties between Yunnan and Southeast and South Asia.
Review
"Yunnan is one of China's most strategically important regions, occupying a critical area where it serves as a bridgehead between the rest of the country and the diverse and complicated economies and polities of south and southeast Asia. Tim Summers has intimate experience of working in the region and has produced an excellent, readable and comprehensive study, locating this ethnically rich province in its historic and regional context, but then using Yunnan to illustrate the complex interdependencies of provinces in modern China and the ways in which they relate to the central government, to other provinces, and to the wider world. An important and rewarding new study."
-Kerry Brown, University of Sydney
Synopsis
The Chinese Government's five-year strategy for social and economic development to 2015 includes the aim of making the southwestern province of Yunnan a bridgehead for 'opening the country' to southeast Asia and south Asia. Yunnan - A Chinese Bridgehead to Asia traces the dynamic process which has led to this policy goal, a process through which Yunnan is being repositioned from a southwestern periphery of the People's Republic of China to a 'bridgehead' between China and its regional neighbours. It shows how this has been expressed in ideas and policy frameworks, involvement in regional institutions, infrastructure development, and changing trade and investment flows, from the 1980s to the present.
Detailing the wider context of the changes in China's global interactions, especially in Asia, the book uses Yunnan's case to demonstrate the extent of provincial agency in global interactions in reform-era China, and provides new insights into both China's relationships with its Asian neighbours and the increasingly important economic engagement between developing countries.
- Offers a new perspective on Yunnan
- Contains historical depth: understanding the background and developments over time means that this 'China watching' book will not date quickly
- Takes a provincial view of China's international relations
About the Author
Tim Summers has taught at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) since 2010. His primary research interests are Chinas regions (especially Western China), contemporary Chinese politics and international relations and issues of global political economy. Dr. Summers also consults and advises commercially on China and writes for public policy organizations. He is Senior Consulting Fellow with Chatham House, UK.
Table of Contents
Introduction: why Yunnan? China in a changing world Yunnans history in regional perspective Repositioning Yunnan: ideas and policy Yunnan and regional institutions Infrastructure development From border trade to ‘going out Conclusion