2006-2007: China Headquarters Economic Development Report (Includes CD-ROM)

Author: Zhao Hong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-12-01
Features: Urban transformation is a major change and turning point in the process and direction of urban development, representing a significant overhaul of urban development paths and models. After a long period of development, cities need to comprehensively adjust and transform their industrial structures, urban functions, and construction to meet the needs of sustained economic growth. Transformation is a common challenge faced by major cities worldwide, with New York, London, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Chicago being internationally recognized as cities that have successfully undergone transformation. Some cities in China also face the same challenges. As China's urbanization accelerates, the production and manufacturing costs in many large cities continue to rise, the hollowing out of manufacturing in central urban areas has become increasingly severe, and resources such as water and land are growing scarcer. Environmental pressures are intensifying, making sustainable development a critical strategic issue for urban growth. Key questions have emerged, such as how to shift economic growth models to improve quality, how to seek new growth drivers to promote sustained urban development, and how to achieve structural upgrades and functional enhancements to drive surrounding areas forward.
Headquarters economy, as a new economic model, drives the development of urban service industries through the concentration of corporate headquarters, creating a strong aggregation and radiation effect in terms of industry, technology, and talent. This helps to promote industrial upgrading and functional enhancement in cities. Developing the headquarters economy is a crucial strategic choice for central cities to implement the scientific outlook on development, advance industrial restructuring and functional enhancement, and achieve urban transformation and sustainable economic and social development.
Urban transformation is a major change and turning point in the process and direction of urban development, representing a significant overhaul of urban development paths and models. After a long period of development, cities need to comprehensively adjust and transform their industrial structures, urban functions, and construction to meet the needs of sustained economic growth. Transformation is a common challenge faced by major cities worldwide, with New York, London, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Chicago being internationally recognized as cities that have successfully undergone transformation. Some cities in China also face the same challenges. As China's urbanization accelerates, the production and manufacturing costs in many large cities continue to rise, the hollowing out of manufacturing in central urban areas has become increasingly severe, and resources such as water and land are growing scarcer. Environmental pressures are intensifying, making sustainable development a critical strategic issue for urban growth. Key questions have emerged, such as how to shift economic growth models to improve quality, how to seek new growth drivers to promote sustained urban development, and how to achieve structural upgrades and functional enhancements to drive surrounding areas forward.
As a new economic model, the headquarters economy drives the development of urban service industries through the concentration of corporate headquarters, creating a strong aggregation and radiation effect in terms of industry, technology, and talent. This helps to promote industrial upgrading and functional enhancement in cities. Developing the headquarters economy is a crucial strategic choice for central cities to implement the scientific outlook on development, advance industrial restructuring and functional enhancement, and achieve urban transformation and sustainable economic and social development.
The 2006–2007 China Headquarters Economy Development Report is themed "How the Headquarters Economy Promotes Urban Economic Transformation." It comprehensively and deeply explores the theoretical and practical aspects of urban transformation both domestically and internationally, the models and pathways through which the headquarters economy aids urban economic transformation, and the practical efforts of major cities or central urban areas in China—such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing, and Wuhan—to develop the headquarters economy and promote urban economic transformation.
The report is divided into four parts: the Comprehensive Section, the Evaluation Section, the Theoretical Section, and the Practical Section.
Comprehensive Section: Research on How the Headquarters Economy Promotes Urban Economic Transformation
This section studies urban economic transformation theory and explores the successful models and experiences of international metropolises like Chicago, the Ruhr, London, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. It delves into the urgency and necessity of economic transformation in some major cities in mainland China. Through empirical research on several large cities—such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Wuhan, and Qingdao—that have applied headquarters economy concepts to promote transformation, the section argues that developing the headquarters economy is a critical strategic choice for China's major cities to achieve economic transformation. It also analyzes the major contradictions that need to be addressed in promoting urban transformation through the headquarters economy.
Evaluation Section: Evaluation Report on the Development Capacity of Headquarters Economy in 35 Major Cities in China
Building on the revision and improvement of the evaluation index system for the headquarters economy's development capacity established in the 2005–2006 China Headquarters Economy Development Report, this section evaluates and ranks the development capacity of the headquarters economy in 35 major Chinese cities across six dimensions: foundational conditions, business facilities, R&D capabilities, professional services, government services, and openness.
Theoretical Section: New Theoretical Research Results on the Headquarters Economy
This section focuses on refining the theoretical framework of the headquarters economy. It conducts in-depth research on key issues such as the formation mechanisms of the headquarters economy, factors influencing corporate headquarters location choices, migration patterns of multinational corporate headquarters, the industrial and spatial value chains of the headquarters economy, and headquarters economy studies from an industrial cluster perspective. These efforts enrich and perfect the theory of the headquarters economy.
Practical Section: New Practical Research Results on the Headquarters Economy
This section emphasizes the relationship between the headquarters economy and urban development, the headquarters economy and central urban area development, and the headquarters economy and the innovation-driven development of development zones. It comprehensively showcases the exploration and practice of major cities in China—such as Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, and Jinan—as well as central urban areas like Beijing's Xicheng District, Guangzhou's Yuexiu District, Wuhan's Wuchang District, Qingdao's Nan'an District, and Ningbo's Jiangdong District—as well as central business districts like Chongqing's Jiefangbei CBD. These efforts demonstrate how the construction of headquarters clusters and the development of the headquarters economy have promoted industrial upgrading and functional enhancement in major cities and central urban areas, driving urban economic transformation.