The changing peripheries in China: A case study of the political and economic impacts of the development of border trade in Yunnan province

One of the new phenomena in the late 1980s and early 1990s in China is the emergence of border trade and the new round of economic development associated with border trade. This dissertation uses Yunnan, a province in southwestern China, as a case study to examine how border trade emerged, to what extent it has developed, and the impacts it has brought to the political economy in Yunnan.; It is argued, in this dissertation, that the convergence of the localized factor advantages and the conducive policy of international openness has provided the dynamics for a massive and systematic development of border trade. The repercussions of this development are far reaching, causing profound changes in economic and political life in Yunnan province. The rapid development of border trade has provided Yunnan with an unprecedented opportunity to pursue a model of decentralized development with emphasis on utilizing its local advantages. The traditionally remote border areas in Yunnan have become the focal point of international economic contacts and economic development. More significantly, the rapid development of border trade has increased the political salience of the border region vis-a-vis the provincial government in Yunnan and that of Yunnan vis-a-vis the central government.; This dissertation also argues that border trade in Yunnan is developing into a "grand border trade," namely economic cooperation within the quadrangle region of Yunnan province, the northern and northeastern parts of Burma, and the northern parts of Laos and Thailand. The development and institutionalization of the "grand border trade" will enable Yunnan to retain the advantages it has enjoyed in border trade. It also will provide Yunnan with more access to the markets in the neighboring countries.; By studying the changing political economy of a province in China's "Far West," this dissertation makes two very important contributions. First, it addresses an important theoretical question--that is, whether the economic growth has been transformed into economic and political centrifugal forces in the diversified development in China. Second, it supplements the conceptual framework of core-periphery developed by G. William Skinner. In this dissertation, the relationship of core-periphery is examined in the political and economic context. More importantly, this study shows that with rapid increase of cross border economic activities, the traditional conceptions about the relationship between the core-periphery within a country's boundary, especially in the developing countries, have to be reconsidered.