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China's urban agglomerations: Surging from industrial-led to innovation-driven

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  • Tang, Jie
  • Li, Huiwen

Abstract

This special issue adopts a multidisciplinary lens to examine the rapid transition of China's urban development from traditional industrial agglomeration to innovation convergence. Integrating New Economic Geography theory, spatial economics insights, and policy case studies, it offers a comprehensive overview of China's innovation-driven urbanization. The collection highlights how market-based price mechanisms, targeted government interventions, and cross-regional knowledge spillovers jointly shape emerging innovation clusters. It also surveys theoretical frontiers in the “age of innovation,” including the enduring role of geographic distance, the impacts of heterogeneity and complexity, the integration of endogenous growth frameworks, and the micro-mechanisms of knowledge creation and diffusion. Finally, the issue previews empirical contributions that analyze urban innovation patterns, cross-boundary collaboration, infrastructure-enabled division of labor, and the pressing challenges of equity, sustainability, and methodological development in the study of industrial clusters and urbanization.

Suggested Citation

  • Tang, Jie & Li, Huiwen, 2026. "China's urban agglomerations: Surging from industrial-led to innovation-driven," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:95:y:2026:i:c:s1043951x25001075
    DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2025.102449
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