Industrial leadership shaping under intensified geoeconomic competition: Chinese EV battery firms within Chinese and EU state agendas.

Abstract:

In the last two decades, Chinese firms have played an increasingly important role in several strategic emerging global production networks (GPNs), challenging the long-standing dominance of developed countries in advanced manufacturing sectors. However, existing theories struggle to fully grasp these new dynamics due to inherent limitations. To address this critical theoretical and empirical gap, this paper proposes an integrated framework that links GPNs with geoeconomic perspectives, recognizing both states and firms as geoeconomic actors. Through a case study of the EV battery industry, the paper explores the European expansion of Chinese lead firms in the context of strategic interplay between Chinese and EU state agendas, supported by varying (geo)economic measures. It analyzes how competitive dynamic forces (cost-capability ratios, market imperative, financial discipline) play out in this strategic sector, as well as the corporate strategies in coping with geopolitical challenges (rejecting, complying and adapting, reinforcing, advocating), offering valuable insights into the rise of GPNs led by non-Western firms and the evolving global economic order shaped by geoeconomic competition.