关键词: 资本循环, 地方政府, 新城新区, 城市化, 鄂尔多斯

Abstract:

Since the 2000s, new town and new district have become important phenomenon in China’s urbanization process. The construction of these new urban spaces is closely related to the transformation of local policies. A major strand of literature has reached a consensus that local governments are playing a pivotal role in Chinese urbanization. However, little has concerned the relationship between capital flows and local government in urban development process. Especially for inland cities lacking foreign capital, it is necessary to explore the interaction between government and capital. Taken Kangbashi New District in Ordos City as a case study, this article puts forward a research framework of “local government-led capital circuit”, and examines the role of local government in capital circulating and capital switching process. The data used in this study mainly come from interviews and secondary data gathered through 4 rounds of fieldwork from April 2011 to August 2016. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with Ordos municipal officials in charge of urban planning and the construction of new district projects. Three circuits of capital flow are identified: 1) Capitalization of coal resources; 2) Capital fixes in urban infrastructure and real estate; 3) Attraction of investments in manufacturing and tertiary industries. This article shows that the local government dominated these 3 circuits of capital accumulation in the new district making through land leasing, support for the investment company, infrastructure provisions and various preferential policies. And, the local government channeled the floating capital accumulated in the primary circuit (from the coal industry) to the built environment of the new district. This study contributes to the existing literature in several ways. First, it enriches Harvey's model of capital switching. Based on the situation of the developed capitalist economy, Harvey points out that the state is only indirectly involved in the process of capital accumulation. However, this study argues that the Ordos Government directly “manipulates” the capital accumulation and capital switching process. In addition, this study also provides a new way to test Harvey's capital switching model through a case study instead of the macro-scale analysis of various pertinent historical data. Second, the case of Ordos adds new knowledge about the new town construction project. New town and new district in China are built as a pool to absorb the floating capital accumulated in the primary circuit, and to further attract investment for local economic development. It has become a popular strategy of the local government. Third, this study advances the understanding of the state-market relations. Market development does not result in the demise of the state regulation in China; rather, the local government dominates the market forces by firmly controlling land leasing, taxation and the provision of many public facilities. The Chinese experience can provide useful information about local state regulations in the post-global financial crisis and post-neoliberalism era.

Key words: capital circuit, local government, new town, urbanization, Ordos City