DING Ke

DING Ke

DING Ke
[Belonging・Position] Business and Industry Studies Group, Development Studies Center ・Senior Research Fellow
[Research Field] Industrial cluster, Global value chain, Innovation system, Chinese economy
[email] Ke_Ding E-mail

Previous research

Based on my interest in the relationship between globalization and economic catch-up, I have researched China’s industrial development. Initially, I conducted fieldwork at wholesale markets, called “specialized markets,” for about 10 years to study the agglomeration of labor-intensive industries in Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces. I subsequently researched companies in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. As the local electronics industry became increasingly advanced, the target of my research gradually shifted from small and medium-sized companies manufacturing feature phones to large companies leading the smartphone industry and then to the high-tech startups that emerged during the entrepreneurship and innovation boom. Recently, I have been examining China’s industrial policy and innovation systems from a macroeconomic perspective.

Current research projects

In 2020–2021, I started a study group focusing on US–China conflict and changes in the East Asian economy. Experts in economics, international politics, and regional studies participated in the group, and we examined the impact of US–China conflict on global value chains and innovation systems from an East Asian perspective. I was responsible for investigating topics related to China’s industrial policy and innovation systems. China’s high-tech industry has grown, reaping the benefits of globalization. However, it has now become inevitable that the industry should reorganize, centering around members of the domestic innovation community, in response to US–China conflict. Because the effects of this conflict on international division of labor are significant and long-lasting, I plan to continue prioritizing this topic as I advance my research.