As non-Chinese manufacturers move farther inland, the four cities highlighted on the map to the right—Chengdu, Xi’an, Wuhan, and Chongqing—have become China’s new industrial hubs. Chongqing (pronounced “Chon-jing”), the old city formerly known as Chungking, lies 900 miles from Shanghai, a major shipping center. But distances are shrinking: Before 1998 it took 37 hours to truck goods to Shanghai, according to Deloitte & Touche. Now it takes only 17 hours. The detailed map of the Chongqing area at right shows how foreign companies tend to cluster into subzones, by nationality and also to be closer to their customers. For example, some of the industrial companies to the northeast are major suppliers of Ford Motor.
As non-Chinese manufacturers move farther inland, the four cities highlighted on the map to the right—Chengdu, Xi’an, Wuhan, and Chongqing—have become China’s new industrial hubs. Chongqing (pronounced “Chon-jing”), the old city formerly known as Chungking, lies 900 miles from Shanghai, a major shipping center. But distances are shrinking: Before 1998 it took 37 hours to truck goods to Shanghai, according to Deloitte & Touche. Now it takes only 17 hours. The detailed map of the Chongqing area at right shows how foreign companies tend to cluster into subzones, by nationality and also to be closer to their customers. For example, some of the industrial companies to the northeast are major suppliers of Ford Motor.
