Dynamics and its Related Factors of Global Investment Connectivity in the Yangtze River Delta City-Region

The development of globally influential city-regions has gradually become an important goal of policymakers, and a key pathway is to strengthen their global economic linkages. This article contributes to our understanding of the investment connectivity of these regions at the global level. Based on enterprise ownership investment data from 2003 to 2018, we aim to analyze the dynamics and related factors of global investment connectivity in China’s Yangtze River Delta (YRD) city-region. To do so, we use a hybrid analytical approach based on social network analysis and a spatial econometric model. The results show that the nonlocal investment activities of the YRD are rapidly being globalized and networked, with mixed global geography concentrated in North America, Europe, and Pacific Asia. Cities in China and abroad tend to be subsidiary- and headquarters-oriented, respectively, but network symmetry has improved as the globalization of Chinese firms has accelerated. The results highlight the importance of globalization, marketization, and localization for global investment connectivity.