These specific examples aim at helping students to understand the change in locational pattern as well as the issues created by the global shift of manufacturing industry, including solutions that can be adopted to solve the problems.
Students can acquire an overview of the global location of manufacturing industry and to understand the global shift in industrial functions and locational pattern.
Curriculum tailoring for students of different abilities
Every student should be provided with a brief introduction of the global manufacturing activities, in particular the location pattern of the major industrial belts and the general factors affecting industrial location and development.
For the more able students, teachers can make use of the specific examples to conduct a more in-depth study of the change in locational pattern as well as the issues created by the global shift. In addition to this, teachers can also probe questions to stimulate students’ discussion on the sustainable development of the manufacturing industry in the specific examples.
How to make use of the information provided in this folder?
The information given in this folder provides teachers with some key and more updated information and facts relating to the changing industrial location and functions in Guangdong, the United Kingdom and the Great Lakes Region. By providing more concrete examples, students’ understanding and motivation can be enhanced.
Teachers are advised to adopt the information provided in this folder to tailor-make some learning materials according to the ability and interest of the students.
Some facts about Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of China. The province covers an area of more than 212,000 square kilometres and has a population of 86.36 million in2013.
Industrial development in Guangdong
Since the start of the Reform and Opening Up in 1978, Guangdong has undergone rapid industrial development. The share of the manufacturing industries to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased from 24% in 1979 to about 47% in 2012 in Guangdong Province. Statistical data on the development of the manufacturing industry from 1978 to 2012 showed a significant increase in the contribution made by the manufacturing industry to Guangdong’s economy in the period.
Year
Share of the manufacturing industries to GDP
1979
24%
1989
34.4%
1999
42%
2009
45.7%
2012
46.5%
Table 1 Share of Manufacturing Industries to Gross Domestic Product
Light industry has always been of importance in Guangdong. Apart from handicrafts, food processing and the manufacture of textiles are the two major light industries of Guangdong. Most of these industries are clustered in Guangzhou, Dongguan, Shunde and Shantou. On the other hand, major heavy industry in Guangdong includes metal processing, the manufacture of machinery, shipbuilding and ship-repairing and the production of automobile.
Recent Changes
Move to inland provinces
Recently, more and more manufacturing industries in Guangdong have moved their plants to or setting up new plants in the inland provinces away from the south-eastern coastal areas. The improved transportation network in the inland provinces Yunan and the preferential policies offered by the central government have attracted many factory owners to relocate their plants to these inland provinces.
The following are a few examples of the inland migration of the manufacturing industries in Guangdong:
Foxconn moved major production line to North China’s Langfang
In 2010, Foxconn planned to move its major production line from Shenzhen to Zhengzhou to reduce labour costs.
Dell planned to move its manufacturing plant from the coastal city of Xiamen to the central or western regions of China such as Chengdu after wages increased in China’s coastal cities.
Pfizer looked inland for less costly talent pool
Due to the higher cost of talent in China’s coastal regions, some multinational companies relocated to untapped inland cities for equally skilled, but less expensive brainpower. As the world’s largest pharmaceutical firm, Pfizer will build a new operation at Wuhan, Hubei for its global research and development project.