New paper highlights the impact of industrial transformation in rural areas

A new paper in the Journal of Rural Studies reports on research from the ERC Global-Rural project led by CWPS-WISERD to examine the industrial transformation of a village in eastern China in the context of globalization.

Co-authored by CWPS-WISERD Co-Director Professor Michael Woods with former CWPS-WISERD post-doc Dr Francesa Fois (now at Salford University), Professor Hualou Long of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Dr Yongqiang Liu and Dr Lin Dai of Ningbo University, the paper reveals of the internal mechanisms of transformation in the village of Tengtou.

It details how globalization in China has deeply changed the socio-economic and spatial forms of villages as new export-oriented industries have developed, in Tengtou’s case around a clothing factory supplying western retailers such as Marks and Spencer. 

The research shows how industrial transformation in Tengtou has diversified the local economy and revitalized the community, including modernizing housing and public services. The paper draws out wider implications for rural restructuring in China.

The paper can be accessed at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0743016722002170?dgcid=coauthor


Contacts

Professor Michael Woods zzp@aber.ac.uk

Dr. Francesca Fois f.fois@salford.ac.uk

Chinese Academy of Sciences cas_en@cas.cn

Centre for Welsh Politics and Society (CWPS) cwps@aber.ac.uk

Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data (WISERD) WISERD@cardiff.ac.uk