JAPANESE FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN CHINA: THE CASE OF DALIAN & SHANGHAI (1984-1997)

Since the 90's there is a renewal of Japanese foreign direct investment (JFDI) in Asia, due to a reassessment of the advantages provided by the zone (demand, high rate of growth, low labor cost, reliable infrastructures). Since 1992, China seems to be a privileged JFDI host country in Asia. This article focuses on JFDI in two interesting sites, Dalian and Shanghai during the period from 1984 to 1997. The concentration of JFDI in Dalian and Shanghai is led by two different logics. JFDI in Dalian is the result of a long history and is mainly supply-oriented. In Shanghai, JFDI is more recent and closely linked to other foreign competitors strategy in China. Thus, JFDI are more demand-led. Finally, the paper attempt to validate by an empirical test the hypotheses that JFDI in Shanghai springs from a different strategy than those in Dalian.