Upgrading Pathways for Non-Core Cities under the New State Space World City Network Framework:A Case Study of Zhuhai's 2049 Strategy

XU Jingtao; CHEN Liwei; CAI Qiaoxian; YIN Chendong

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1000-0232.2025.11.007

Abstract：Under the context of deepening globalization and regional integration,the issue of internal development disparity within major metropolitan regions—such as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Yangtze River Delta—has become increasingly pronounced.Core cities exert a strong siphon effect due to their superior capacity for resource absorption,while non-core cities commonly face challenges such as factor outflows,industrial homogenization,and functional marginalization.Existing theoretical studies have predominantly focused on core cities,paying insufficient attention to non-core cities.This limits their effectiveness in guiding the upgrading of non-core cities and promoting coordinated regional development.A scientifically grounded exploration of pathways for non-core cities to achieve developmental upgrading,along with the construction of a dual-dimensional analytical framework integrating national strategic will and global network capital,can help fill this research gap.Such a framework would provide theoretical support and practical guidance for non-core cities to enhance their competitiveness and achieve upgrading in the new era. For non-core cities within metropolitan regions,neither relying solely on top-down resource acquisition nor passively awaiting global capital infusion is sufficient to achieve upgrading.Both structuralist approaches to urban development and flow-space theory offer limited explanatory power when applied in isolation.Therefore,this study introduces a dual theoretical perspective combining the New State Space and World City Network frameworks.This integrated approach aims to account for both top-down institutional empowerment and bottom-up network embeddedness,with a focus on interpreting their interactive mechanisms amid contemporary trends such as anti-globalization and the transition toward high-quality urbanization.Unlike traditional static and unidimensional theories,this framework offers a dynamic and dialectical perspective to examine the ongoing interaction and restructuring between national strategies and global networks,thereby providing a more robust theoretical foundation for understanding how non-core cities can achieve upgrading. Building on this dual-dimensional framework,the study identifies three major constraints—institutional lock-in,industrial lock-in,and spatial lock-in—faced by non-core cities.It then constructs a spiral-upgrading model based on the synergistic interaction of three pathways:state institutional empowerment,regional industrial embeddedness,and network spatial optimization.First,the state institutional empowerment pathway emphasizes that non-core cities should actively seek strategic institutional support from the national level to create institutional advantages and provide policy guarantees for upgrading.Second,the regional industrial embeddedness pathway suggests that non-core cities should avoid low-level homogeneous competition with core cities and instead engage in strategic coupling to integrate into medium-and high-end segments of global value chains and regional industrial systems.Third,the network spatial optimization pathway focuses on enhancing a city's connectivity and nodal value within regional and global networks.This entails building multi-dimensional strategic channels—including transportation and digital infrastructure—to strengthen the city's role as a hub within broader regional networks. Using Zhuhai's 2049 strategic plan as a case study,the paper analyzes pathways for institutional,industrial,and spatial upgrading.The aim is to provide an actionable reference and a transformational paradigm for non-core cities within the national strategy of regional coordination.In terms of state institutional empowerment,Zhuhai should shift from passively receiving policies to proactively seeking national platforms,deepening integration with Hong Kong and Macao,and promoting policy innovation to reposition itself within the national spatial hierarchy.In regional industrial embeddedness,leveraging its marine resources and industrial foundation,Zhuhai should develop emerging sectors such as the blue economy and low-altitude economy.By positioning itself as an outcomes transformation laboratory,it can attract global innovation factors and strengthen its role as a network organizer for the western part of the Greater Bay Area.In network spatial optimization,through the construction of four-direction strategic corridors and two types of urban platforms,Zhuhai can enhance external connectivity and internal capacity building,facilitating a transition from a geographical periphery to a hub of flows.