Emerging economies, and the People’s Republic of China in particular, play a growing role in today’s global economy. This is partly due to global value chains (GVCs), which have allowed countries to integrate the global economy faster than in the past. The search for cost savings and cheap labour as well as market size/growth have led companies to relocate large parts of their value chains to emerging markets. The increasing global engagement of emerging economies has contributed to rapid growth in exports, employment and economic growth in these countries. Integration in GVCs is only one, albeit an important, stepping stone for economic development. Given their specialisation in labour-intensive and low-cost activities, emerging and developing countries increasingly seek to move up the value chain.