Move Up or Move Out? The Impact of New Technologies on the Role of the “World Factory” in Supply Chains: Preliminary Remarks by Chinese Analysts

China is equipping itself with a mid-long-term strategy to sustain its manufacturing sector in the face of potential challenges brought about by “disruptive” technologies. According to most analysts, disruptive technologies such as 3D printing, IoT, big data, and robotics are going to modify the “shop floor” and re-allocate the functions and roles of firms empowered in the global value chains (GVCs). In China, scholars, state officials, and the entrepreneurial community have profoundly analysed the impact that disruptive technologies can exert on their firms’ role in the global value chains, reaching the conclusion that the country has to frame a policy to hedge that risk. This paper aims to provide an overview of the debate stirred up by the confrontation of the national manufacturing sector with the introduction of new technologies. The debate, which has involved many institutional and economic actors, has influenced the industrial plans recently drawn up by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.