The role of the states in developing Chinese gateways: the case of Ningbo in the Yangtze River Delta

Abstract

Gateway is a common term that has appeared mainly in geographical literature in various contexts. The focus on gateway shifts our attention away from “which cities dominate” to “how cities are affected by globalization.”

This dissertation aims to (1) justify the imbalanced development between air and maritime transport within gateway cities, and the existence of a multi-port and multi-airport gateway region in coastal China; (2) initially explore an operational framework of the states in the process of gateway planning, formation, and promotion in China; and (3) conceptualize the discourses behind the intervention of the states and the competitions among them in the process of building and developing gateways. With these research objectives in mind, two hypotheses are proposed: (1) the hierarchical gateway systems and the interdependency among multiple airports and multiple ports within a region could be explained by the concept of “administrative capital,” and the development of gateway is affected by various states with different administrative capitals; and (2) the devolution reform in the port and airport sectors could be explained by path dependence, thereby revealing the reasons behind the changing role of the states in developing gateways in different periods.

A combination of research methods, actualized in two complementary phases, is used in the study. The Ningbo gateway, as well as gateways (including airports and ports) in the South Yangtze River Delta, is chosen for the case study. First, the interdependency between airports and seaports in the region is analyzed by using annual and monthly data. Second, the role of the states in building and promoting gateways is analyzed by the concept of “administrative capital” and “path dependence,” based on related policies and information obtained from three interviews conducted in Ningbo, Hangzhou, and Shanghai.

The cargo throughputs of multiple airports and multiple ports in a region are found to have fairly strong interdependence on both monthly and annual bases. Therefore, to some extent, the demand for air cargo and seaborne shipments is strongly interdependent at a regional level. With such background, inadequacies in the capacity and connectivity of Ningbo Airport in servicing Ningbo are revealed. Support from the local government is important in the development of gateways. Such development is affected by different administrative ranks of the states and the accumulation of various advantages gained by the states because of their position in the national or regional administrative ladder.

This dissertation proposes the concept of “administrative capital” to decode the discourses behind the interdependency between airports and ports in the region, as well as their unbalanced development. Thus, how administrative capital works in a government-dominated economy and leads to the formation of the geographical space of transport gateways is identified.