Tianlan Fu

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Tianlan Fu’s research sits at the intersection of economic geography, global production networks (GPNs), and industrial upgrading, with a particular focus on China’s emerging high-tech manufacturing sectors. Her most-cited work, “Regionalisation or domesticalisation? Configurations of China’s emerging domestic market-driven industrial robot production networks” (2022, 12 citations), offers a critical intervention in GPN theory by examining how Southern market-driven dynamics—rather than traditional Northern lead-firm strategies—shape production networks. Fu argues that China’s industrial robot industry is characterized by a “domesticalisation” process, where domestic demand and policy drive localized production and innovation, challenging conventional narratives of regionalization. This contribution is notable for its empirical richness and theoretical novelty, providing a framework for understanding how emerging economies can foster indigenous technological capabilities. Beyond this paper, Fu’s work consistently explores the spatial and institutional dimensions of industrial change, making her a rising voice in debates on automation, global value chains, and development. Her research is particularly valuable for students and scholars interested in how market size and state policy interact to reshape global production geographies.