Global Production Network and the Upgrading of China's Integrated Circuit Industry

Using an analytical framework of the global production network (GPN), the present paperexamines the external environment and the internal dynamics of China’s integrated circuit(IC) industry.We analyze the transition of China’s IC industry from a state-led integrateddevice manufacturers’model to deeper integration into the GPN.We also explore thetechnological sources, the upgrading dynamics as well as the positioning of different nodesof China’s IC industry in the GPN.We conclude that the "East Asia model" of gradualindustrial upgrading might not apply anymore in the new era of GPN.High-technologyindustries can now be upgraded based on a parallel evolution model.Policy implications forChina’s high-technology industrial upgrading strategies are drawn from our analysis.