China's 2025 Vision in Practice, Volume I

This first part of a two-volume work offers a comprehensive exploration of China's ambitious "Made in China 2025" initiative and its broader geopolitical implications. By examining China's strategic shift from a low-cost manufacturing hub to a high-tech powerhouse, chapters provide a critical assessment of the initiative's progress and its impact on global economic dynamics.

The chapters advance the view that MIC 2025 operates beyond an industrial upgrading agenda, serving instead as a mechanism of strategic decoupling aimed at restructuring global production networks to reduce China’s exposure to external dependencies.

Through expert contributions, readers will gain insights into the challenges and opportunities presented by China's industrial strategies, including the semiconductor "chips war" and the new global bipolarity centered around technology and innovation. An essential read for scholars and practitioners in international political economy, Chinese studies, and global economic governance, it offers a nuanced understanding of China's evolving role on the global stage, making it a valuable resource for graduate-level courses and research institutions focused on contemporary China. With its interdisciplinary approach, the book provides a holistic view of China's rise and its implications for the future of global economic and strategic competition.

Young-Chan Kim is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a Senior Lecturer in the Executive Business Centre at the University of Greenwich, UK. He has previously held a visiting position at Academia Sinica in Taiwan and was a recipient of the Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs Scholarship. He was recognised as a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in 2020. He currently serves as Chief Editor of the 21st Century China and Its Geo strategic Approach series (Palgrave/Springer), a well established and widely consulted series within China and Asian studies. The series continues to attract strong academic engagement and provides an important platform for emerging scholars working on contemporary China. Dr Kim has published extensively on Chinese strategic relations and is actively involved in projects that support early career academics, particularly those examining Sino globalism and its evolving impact on international relations and global institutions.