Chinese Cities - Sciences Po - OGLM 3050 - 59127 - S2 2025/26 Clément Renaud [hi@clementrenaud.com](mailto:hi@clementrenaud.com) (use left/right keyboard arrows to navigate) --- class: inverse, center, middle ## Week 4 # 造 ## The Making Of Manufacturing #### 17 Feb 2026 --- class: inverse, center, middle ## Character of the week # 造 [Purple Culture](https://www.purpleculture.net/dictionary-details/?word=造) / [Hanziyuan](https://hanziyuan.net/) / [CUHK dic](https://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=造) --- class: inverse background-color: red background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/horse-cny.jpg) # Happy New Year :) ## 马年大吉 ! [春运 (chunyun)](https://www.mot.gov.cn/fenxigongbao/yunlifenxi/202001/t20200109_3323840.html) ## [Live data](https://qianxi.baidu.com/#/) --- background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/kukuma.jpg) # 哭哭马 .footnote[ source: [浙江义乌：“哭哭马”意外走红成爆款玩具 - news.cn](https://www.news.cn/photo/20260112/e855598662a9487e963237d3bd746a10/c.html?page=5) ] --- class: inverse, middle, center # The Making of Manufacturing ### Technology, Consumer Electronics and Huaqiangbei --- class: inverse # What we will cover today 1. Context: the 1980s quest for capital, SEZs, and the role of Hong Kong 2. The rise of consumer electronics and the age of consumerism 3. Case study: Huaqiangbei -- evolution through generations of tech 4. The "Made in China" model: specialized manufacturing clusters --- class: inverse, middle, center # 1. Capital, SEZs, and Hong Kong/ Taiwan ### The shift to capital-intensive industry --- background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/shenzhen_shangu_map.png) # Shenzhen Special Economic Zone --- # The SEZ as Window (窗口) - Established 1980 as China's first SEZ / flagship - "Dare to experiment and break a new path" (Deng Xiaoping) - The SEZ as a **showcase**: a controlled laboratory to demonstrate what market reforms could achieve - A "window" (窗口) on the outside world **Window of the World** - [The World by Jia Zhangke](https://youtu.be/pQNoXtr1i50?t=315) --- background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/Location-of-the-open-economic-zones-OEZs-the-special-economic-zones-SEZs-and-the.png) class: bg-contain # More Special Economic Zones ### Testing ground: what works here can be rolled out nationally .footnote[source: [Hayter & Han, 1998](https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Location-of-the-open-economic-zones-OEZs-the-special-economic-zones-SEZs-and-the_fig1_24087309)] --- .col-one-half[ # Seeking Capital ### 80s : Get rich or die tryin' Yuen Yuen Ang - experimenting with capitalism - the Special Economic Zones - allowing FDIs - employment restructuring (from national to open markets) - [stats](https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2002/08/art3full.pdf) ] .col-one-half[  ] --- # Hong Kong: the Gateway for Capital ### 三来一补 (sanlai yibu) -- "Three supplies, one compensation" - The 三来一补 model: HK partners supplied raw materials, designs, and equipment; Shenzhen supplied cheap labor - Processing and assembly operations funded by HK/foreign capital - Joint ventures and wholly foreign-owned enterprises multiplied through the 1980s - HK factories moved north of the border: from thousands of workers in Kowloon to millions in the PRD ### From processing to own-manufacturing - Initial role: **assembling** products designed elsewhere - Gradual accumulation of know-how, tooling, and supplier networks - By the 1990s: transition from pure assembly to **own-design manufacturing** --- # Made in Taiwan ### ancient families with direct access to capital in Taiwan and the US ex. already in the 1980s - Pou Chen Group (寶成國際集團) and Feng Tay (豐泰企業) = Nike - Futai Group (福太洋傘) = umbrellas - China General Plastics Corporation (華夏塑膠) 50+ % Barbie Dolls for Mattel - Pretty Fashion Inc = wedding dresses sold in Europe. > “Most consumers laugh at products made in Taiwan,” said Keith Bright, founder of Bright & Associates. “We’re going to make an effort to overcome that.” > .small[*Shoring Up Made-in-Taiwan Image*, in LA Times By BRUCE HOROVITZ Sept. 17, 1991] --- class: inverse, middle, center # 2. The Rise of Consumer Electronics ### Computers everywhere --- # The Consumer Revolution ### From scarcity to desire - the 1990s-2000s brought an **explosion of consumer demand** - New desires: TVs, VCD/DVD players, mobile phones, personal computers - A rising middle class eager for modern technology at affordable prices - Domestic demand + export markets = massive manufacturing opportunity - "Computers everywhere": the personal computer as symbol of modernity and access to the world --- # The "Made in China" era ### Factory relocation - since 1990s, factories moving to China en masse - Today, discussion about "reshoring" .foonote[ [Relocation of EU Industry -An Overview of Literature, EU Parliament - 2006](https://www.europarl.europa.eu/document/activities/cont/201109/20110906ATT26029/20110906ATT26029EN.pdf) ] [无用 Useless by Jia Zhang Ke](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re9tL30pg0g) --- class: inverse background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/china-wto-accession.jpeg) # Industrial boom ### WTO accession (2001) - China joins the World Trade Organization: access to global export markets - "The world's factory" -- manufacturing output explodes - Foreign brands outsource production to Chinese factories - Domestic firms learn quality standards and scale --- # Digital infrastructures buildup .col-one-half[ Information Highways (1991)  ] .col-one-half[ Golden Projects (1992)  ] --- background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/ATARI-christmas-ad.png) # The Rise of Consumer Electronics --- background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/IBM_PC_AT_5170_System_Board.jpeg) # The IBM PC and Open Architecture .footnote[ IBM PC AT (1984) -- an **open standard** that anyone could clone. This openness created a global market for compatible components and enabled manufacturing worldwide. ] --- background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/ATX_Form_Factor_Comparison.jpeg) # Modularization of technology ### Standard form factors, interchangeable components - Technology becomes **modular**: standard interfaces, standard sizes - Any manufacturer can produce a compatible part - Assembling a computer = sourcing and combining modules -- no need to design from scratch --- background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/whitebox.jpg) # The 90s "Whitebox" Computers --- background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/LEC-MTK-I1200-F-MediaTek-Genio-1200-SoM.webp) # MediaTek: the Turnkey Solution ### The chip that changed everything - MediaTek (MTK, Taiwan) created **complete system-on-chip** solutions for mobile phones - A "turnkey platform": screen, radio, OS, apps -- all integrated on one chip - Any small factory could now produce a working phone **without R&D** - Democratized phone manufacturing → thousands of new producers in Shenzhen - The technological foundation of the **shanzhai phone explosion** --- class: inverse, middle, center # 3. Case Study: Huaqiangbei ### Evolution through generations of tech --- class: inverse background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/HQBstuff.jpg) # Huaqiangbei ### The world's largest electronics market .foonote[ [Walk in HQB](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVES7I6r8FE)] --- background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/hqb-shenan.jpg) # From industrial to pedestrian --- class: inverse background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/HQBlife.jpg) # The family-based factory --- # Generations of Huaqiangbei ### A district shaped by successive waves of technology | Period | Technology | Activity | |---|---|---| | 1980s-90s | Components & parts | Shangbu industrial zone → electronics market | | Late 90s-2000s | PCs, VCD/DVD players | Whitebox assembly, component wholesale trade | | 2005-2012 | MTK-era mobile phones | Shanzhai golden age -- thousands of phone makers | | 2012-2016 | Smartphones, IoT | Maker movement, hardware startups, incubators | | 2016+ | Semiconductors, AI | Government "upgrade," innovation discourse | Each generation built on the infrastructure, knowledge, and networks of the previous one. --- background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/ZHOU-The-PLA-engineering-corps-entering-Shenzhen-1980.jpeg) # The Engineering Corps (1980) ### Creation of the SEZ .footnote.inverse[ source: Zhou, 2021 ] --- class: background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/Shangbu_Layout.jpg) # The Shangbu District (1985) ### Early planning and development --- background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/hqb-road.jpg) # Settling shops ## SOEs, local businesses and joint-ventures --- class: bg-contain background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/huaqiangbei-map.png) # The accidental zoning ### From 3rd front to market buildings --- class: inverse, center background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/remote_exploded.jpg) # Learning from scratch .footnote[image: [Bug Workshop](http://bugworkshop.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/sonyrm-677c.html)] --- background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/shuihuzhuan.jpeg) # Shanzhai / 山寨 .footnote[ 水浒传 - 连环画出版社 ] --- background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/iPhones.jpg) .center[ # ☆ AAA 货 ☆ ] --- background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/PowerBankPhone.png) class:center # Trying all sort of things .footnote.align-right[ ## Facing new problems Accra, Ghana (2015) .small[ source: [Quartz Africa](https://qz.com/411330/the-mystery-of-the-power-bank-phone-taking-over-ghana/) ] ] .left-column[   ] --- class: center, middle, inverse background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/GOLDSMITH_ok.gif) .footnote.small[ ## [SHANZHAI ARCHEOLOGY](http://disnovation.org/shanzhai.html) by DISNOVATION.ORG ] --- # Clustering in HQB ### Agglomeration economics - **Proximity to suppliers**: every component available within walking distance - **Speed of iteration**: prototype a new product in days, not months - **Knowledge spillovers**: innovations spread instantly between neighboring stalls - **Labor pool**: skilled technicians and traders concentrated in one area - **Trust networks**: repeat interactions, reputation, face-to-face negotiation This cluster logic is the same force that drives Silicon Valley -- but for hardware. --- class: inverse, middle, center # Repositioning Huaqiangbei ### From "Made in China" to "Created in China" --- # The quest for innovation ### From "Made in China" to "Created in China" - Post-2015: government campaigns to *"upgrade"* the district - Many traders relocated to other cities or moved to e-commerce platforms - Crackdowns on counterfeit markets, stricter IP enforcement - Rising rents pushed many small vendors out or online - Shift from chaotic trade hub to sanitized tech showcase - HQB now positioned as "Silicon Valley of hardware" -- but for whom? --- background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/ShenzhenMap.png) # Learning from Shenzhen --- class: inverse background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/HAX.png) # HAX : hardware incubator .footnote[http://kickstarter.com/hax] --- class: inverse background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/seed.jpg) # Seeed Studio --- class: inverse background-image: url("/chinese-cities/img/iMakerBase.jpg") # iMakerBase --- class: inverse, center background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/smic_hq_china_smic.jpeg) # "Climb up the food chain" .footnote[ SMIC chip foundry in Shenzhen ] --- class: inverse, middle, center # 4. The "Made in China" Model ### Specialized manufacturing clusters --- # Specialized Clusters (产业集群) ### "One town, one product" The HQB model generalized: hundreds of Chinese towns hyper-specialized in one product category - **Yiwu** (义乌) -- small commodities, the world's largest wholesale market - **Dongguan** (东莞) -- shoes, garments, electronics assembly - **Wenzhou** (温州) -- lighters, buttons, low-voltage electrical equipment - **Puyuan** (濮院) -- sweaters and knitwear - **Haining** (海宁) -- leather goods --- # Platforms as Infrastructure ### How e-commerce changed manufacturing - Alibaba / Taobao created **new channels** for small manufacturers to reach consumers directly - Bypassing traditional wholesale markets and middlemen - Any village with internet access could become a production-and-sales hub - Platforms provide logistics, payment, reputation systems -- the infrastructure of trade - The result: **manufacturing without urbanization** -- production moves to where labor is cheap --- class: inverse background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/taobao-village-pic.webp) # Taobao villages ### Digital infrastructure in rural areas - 5,000+ Taobao villages across China (2020s) - Annual e-commerce revenue exceeding 10 million RMB per village - Products: furniture, clothing, agricultural goods, small electronics, costumes... ### [Watch video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTJBpGC8Ems) .footnote[ Source: [Quartz](https://qz.com/899922/once-poverty-stricken-chinas-taobao-villages-have-found-a-lifeline-making-trinkets-for-the-internet) ] --- background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/taobao-villages-map.jpg) # Autonomous Urbanism ### Infrastructure without formal planning .footnote[ - Hilgefort & Li's Chapter in [_Realtime Making Digital China_](https://realtimechina.net) ] --- class: inverse background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/taobao-village-drawing.jpg) .footnote[ - [Taobao Villages map](https://www.chinese-architects.com/en/drawing-architecture-studio-beijing/project/taobao-village-smallacre-city) ] --- class: inverse background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/REFORM-Superblock.jpg) # The modular / model city ### Manufacturing clusters as building blocks of urbanization .footnote[ source : [Harvard RE-FORM project](https://www.gsd.harvard.edu/project/re-form-towards-human-scale-urbanism-in-china/)] --- class: center, inverse background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/REFORM-betweenessSE.jpg) # Building Blocks .footnote[ source : [Harvard RE-FORM project](https://www.gsd.harvard.edu/project/re-form-towards-human-scale-urbanism-in-china/)] ---