Il fattore Cina nelle scelte di localizzazione del settore manifatturiero del Giappone e della Corea del Sud: focus sull'industria elettronica

The purpose of this study is to analyze if China is still an advantageous choice for Japanese and South Korean companies which want to relocate their manufacturing activities. The focus is on electronics industry. Japanese and South Korean electronics companies have relocated their manufacturing activities since 60s/70s. Following Kojima's modern Flying Geese pattern, Japan and South Korea first moved to ASEAN countries, then, with China's rise, they started to shift labor intensive activities in China. In the last few years, Japanese and South Korean companies are moving out of China, back to Southeast Asian countries. The US-China Trade war is accelerating the process. ASEAN countries, especially Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand, have attractive benefits to offer to foreign investors: lower costs, governments incentives, preferential tariffs. However, in the technological and innovative era we are living in, economies need other factors to quickly adapt themselves to changes and new opportunities. Unlike the majority of ASEAN countries, China has well-developed infrastructures, a flourishing environment for innovation and business, technological skills. Moreover, it has the first market in the world and is well-integrated in the global value chains. Therefore, it is hard for ASEAN countries to catch up with China and a total re-configuration of the electronics value chain is not happening.