Study on Driving Factors and Complex Path Selection for China to Grow into A World Factory

The period of Twelfth Five-Year Plan is an important stage of enhancing the international division of labor for China.On the background of the integration of global trade and investment,the concept of world factory is defined from three levels according to the status of China’s processing trade in the international division of labor.The motivating factors of reaching the world factory are explored based on globalization strategy of multinational companies,international division of labor and China’s comparative advantages.Meanwhile,due to different level and dynamic features of the world’s factory,the path towards a higher level of factory will be complex and progressive: First,The path of participating in the international division of labor while improving the capability of independent innovation;second,the path of maintaining the dominant position of the labor-intensive industries while upgrading industrial structure;third,the path of constructing the domestic market while making state-owned enterprisesgo outto enhance their competitive advantages.Following recommendations are proposed:to continue to be the manufacturer and exporter of world manufactured goods;to develop higher vocational education vigorously;to enhance the level of independent innovation and industrial structure;to combine the upgrading of processing trade strategy andgoing outstrategy;and to remove regional fragmentation and thus to build unified domestic market.