THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG
DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY
MA in China Development Studies
GEOG7101 The Chinese Economies: Location, Transformation and Integration
4 September – 1 December 2023 (Reading Week: 16-21 October 2023)
Lecture Fri 19:00-20:50, KK-201
Teacher Dr. He WANG
hewang@hku.hk
Course Description
This course provides an overview of the location, transformation, and integration of regional
economies in China's mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau. Major theoretical
perspectives are introduced to explain the growth dynamics of the Chinese economies and the
shifting spatial distribution of economic activities and their outward direct investment flows
across the globe.
Weekly Schedule and Topics
Recommended Basic Reading
Coe, N. M., Kelly, P. F., & Yeung, H. W.-C. (2020). Economic geography: a contemporary
introduction (Third edition.). Wiley-Blackwell.
Veeck, G., Pannell, C.W., Shen, X. and Huang, Y. (2021) China’s Geography: Globalization
and the Dynamics of Political, Economic, and Social Change. Lanham: Rowman &
Littlefield
Week Date Topic
1 8 Sept Introduction
2 15 Sept Where do you live in WeChat?
3 22 Sept Social Media DaKa (Check-in/Hot Spot) Economy, Tutoring
Industry: What is Economy?
4 29 Sept Barbie: Feminist Icon or Girl Economy?
5 6 Oct CBA Liaoning Flying Leopard: a Team of Sadness?
6 13 Oct Is First-tier City still Attractive to Young People?
7 20 Oct Reading Week (NO Class)
8 27 Oct Cashless lifestyle, food delivery and DiDi
9 3 Nov State: Who runs the economy?
10 10 Nov ESG: Environment, Social and Governance
11 17 Nov Presentation I
12 24 Nov Presentation II
13 1 Dec Concluding: Future Directions and Challenges
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Course Assessment
• Examination (50%)
Ø A two-hour final examination
• Coursework (50%)
Ø Group presentation (20%)
Ø Individual Essay (30%)
Final examination (50%):
The final exam will encompass two sections. The first one will be concept definition and
discussion and the second is a comprehensive essay question.
Group presentation (20%):
Students in groups of SIX (no exceptions) are expected to give a twelve-minute
presentation during one of the ‘marathon sessions’ (The class will be split into two
groups—Group A and Group B) using between eight to ten (no more than twelve) power
point slides on the topic they choose for the presentation project. The goal here is for the
students to be able to focus on an in-depth study and succinctly synthesize the background,
findings, analysis and implications of their study.
Individual evaluation and critical reflective essay (30%):
Students (individually) are expected to prepare a seminar critique on several (number to
be determined) of the presentations given in the session that they are NOT presenting in.
It will consist of two parts. The first part will be to evaluate the presentation on a scale
that consists of: content, organization, presentation skills, analysis, synthesis and
originality. The second part is to provide a short paragraph with some constructive, but
critical comments on what you liked about the presentation, what could have been done
better and so forth. The objective here is for the student to develop skills in regard to being
able to critique one’s peers and properly present them in a report format. Secondly,
students are expected to give equal attention to writing a critical reflection on their
experience in regard to their oral presentation along with what they learned in the course.
Presentation Themes:
Theme A is ‘Reinventing Chinese Economy’. Theme B is ‘China Developing
Sustainably’. Your focus for both themes can be on a company, sector or region. You must
also incorporate a dialectical framework in both cases. Do not get bogged down into very
specific details, you should approach it as a contextualization or case study. This doesn’t
mean it should not be analytical!
Important Assessment Related Dates:
Friday, 6th Oct (before class): Submit a hard-copy one-page (double spaced) proposal
(no more than two pages double spaced) that introduces your topic and why you believe
it is a candidate for study under the theme presented above.
Friday, 11th and 18th November: Group presentations. Please submit your power point
slides to me in hard copy format (four slides per page with light background) before you
present. Soft copies of BOTH Group A and B are due 12pm, 11th Nov, via Moodle.
Thursday, 7th December: Critiques and reflective essays are due by 11:55 PM. Please
upload it via the Turnitin assignment link on the course Moodle. NO need for hard copies.
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Individual evaluation and critical reflective essay requirements:
1. The essay should be approximately 2,000-2,500 words, preferable closer to the former.
2. Text should be double spaced, with one-inch margins, 12 pt. Times New Roman font
and printed on both sides of the paper with the exception of the title page.
3. Properly signpost your document! Due to the length of the document, it is not
necessary to number sections.
4. Please list an overall word count at the very end of the main body of the paper.
5. Please carefully proofread your paper well and double check the formatting, spelling,
grammar and so forth. These are some of the criteria under my assessment rubric.
6. The paper should contain proper citations in a format that you are comfortable with.
However, please do not cite using footnotes. The references should be listed as a
separate section at the end of the paper.
7. The paper should have an adequate title page with a title that synthesizes the
content of the paper!
8. The paper needs to be ran through Turnitin before submission.
Penalty for late submission
All assignments should be submitted on time. According to the Departmental regulations, late
submission of assignment will receive the following penalties:
Late for % of marks to be deducted
1 day 5%
2 days 10%
3 days 15%
4 days 20%
5 days 25%
6 days 30%
7 days 35%
8 days 40%
9 days 45%
10 days 50%
More than 10 days No mark will be given
Academic Honesty
The Department of Geography expects that all student’s work will conform to the highest
standards of academic integrity. Student’s work will be scrutinized for academic misconduct,
which includes plagiarism of other’s words and/or ideas, attribution of sources, falsification,
fabrication, and misuse of data. Student’s submitted work will be scrutinized for plagiarism
through use of Turnitin (http://lib.hku.hk/turnitin/turnitin.html; www.turnitin.com). In the
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event a student submits work that appears to be plagiarized—whether essays, presentations, or
other course material—they will be asked to explain themselves to the lecturer. The Department
does not tolerate plagiarism. Acts of plagiarism could result in heavy penalties, including
disciplinary action. For more information about the policy on plagiarism at The University of
Hong Kong, please visit: http://www.hku.hk/plagiarism.
Class Arrangements and Protocol
To achieve the objectives of this course, it is important that everyone strives to create a safe,
respectful and stimulating intellectual space, where everyone is able to freely engage in
discussion and other class activities. This class respects diversity of all kinds, in terms of
ethnicity, age, nationality, political and ideological beliefs, sexual orientation, sex and gender,
and so on. If you have a disability that needs accommodations, please inform me as soon as
possible.
Weekly Schedule
Week 1 (8 Sept): Introduction
• Video: Adichie, Chimamanda. “The danger of a single story”:
http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story
Week 2 (15 Sept): Where do you live in WeChat?
• Ch 1. Thinking Geographically, Coe, Kelly and Yeung 2013.
• Forget TikTok. China’s Powerhouse App Is WeChat. - The New York Times
Week 3 (22 Sept): Social Media DaKa (Check-in/Hot Spot) Economy, Tutoring Industry:
What is Economy?
• Ch 2. The Economy: What does it mean? Coe, Kelly and Yeung 2020/2013.
• Ch 8. China’s Changing Economic Geography, Veeck, G., et al (2021) China’s Geography
• Thrift, N., & Olds, K. (1996). Refiguring the economic in economic geography. Progress in
Human Geography, 20(3), 311-337. (pages 322-333).
Week 4 (29 Sept): Barbie: Feminist Icon or Girl Economy?
• Ch13. Identities: Are economies gendered and racialized? Coe, Kelly and Yeung 2020.
• Siyuan Yin (2022) Re-articulating feminisms: a theoretical critique of feminist struggles and
discourse in historical and contemporary China, Cultural Studies, 36:6, 981-1004
• SCMP Opinion and Comment Aug 2023 Why the Barbie film’s message should resonate with
Hong Kong and the rest of Asia
• NY Times.‘Barbie’ Review_ On the Road and Out of the Box - The New York Times
Week 5 (6 Oct): CBA Liaoning Flying Leopard: a Team of Sadness?
• Ch 3. Dynamics of Capitalism: Why is economic growth so uneven? Coe, Kelly and Yeung
2020.
• Zhang, J., & Peck, J. (2016). Variegated Capitalism, Chinese Style: Regional Models, Multi-
scalar Constructions. Regional Studies, 50(1), 52–78.
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Week 6 (13 Oct): Is First-tier City still Attractive to Young People?
• Ch6. Labour: Are migrant workers the new normal? Coe, Kelly and Yeung 2020.
• Veeck, G., et al (2021) China’s Geography, Chapter 5. Cities: The Road to an Urban
Revolution
• Jin, C., Li, B., Jansen, S. J. T., Boumeester, H. J. F. M., & Boelhouwer, P. J. (2022). What
attracts young talents? Understanding the migration intention of university students to first-
tier cities in China. Cities,
Week 7 (20 Oct): Reading Week, NO CLASS
Week 8 (27 Oct): Cashless lifestyle, food delivery and DiDi
• Ch 7. Consumers: Who decide what we buy? Coe, Kelly and Yeung 2020.
• Sun, P., & Zhao, Y. (2022). Platformed distinction work: Rethinking the migration and
integration of food delivery workers in China. Environment and Planning A: Economy and
Space.
Week 9 (3 Nov): State: Who runs the economy?
• Ch9. States: Who runs the economy? Coe, Kelly and Yeung 2020.
• Hsu, J. (2017). State transformation and the evolution of economic nationalism in the East
Asian developmental state: the Taiwanese semiconductor industry as case
study. Transactions - Institute of British Geographers (1965), 42(2), 166–178.
Week 10 (10 Nov): ESG: Environment, Social and Governance
• Ch11. Environment: Does global climate change change everything? Coe, Kelly and Yeung
2020.
• Yeung, G. (2019). “Made in China 2025”: the development of a new energy vehicle industry
in China. Area Development and Policy, 4(1), 39–59.
Week 11&12 (17, 24 Nov): Marathon Presentation
Week 13 (1 Dec): Concluding: Future Directions and Challenges
• Ch14. Alternatives: Can we create diverse economies? Coe, Kelly and Yeung 2020.