The Contemporary Period, c. 1914 to the Present: 6.6: Foundations of Contemporary Globalization (Sources 1–11)

International trade is integral to the process of globalization. (Source 1)

International trade is integral to the process of globalization. (Source 1)

Over many years, governments in most countries have increasingly opened their economies to international trade, whether through the multilateral trading system, increased regional cooperation, or as part of domestic reform programmes. (Source 1)

Trade has allowed nations to benefit from specialization and economies to produce at a more efficient scale. (Source 1)

In the case of technological innovations, chief among these driving forces of globalization were inventions that improved the speed of transportation and communications and lowered their costs. (Source 1)

In the case of technological innovations, chief among these driving forces of globalization were inventions that improved the speed of transportation and communications and lowered their costs. (Source 1)

These included the development of the jet engine and its universal use in aviation for transporting people and goods and the adoption of containerisation in international shipping. (Source 1)

Massive investments in road infrastructure have allowed large shares of trade to be carried by freight trucks in western Europe and North America. (Source 1)

Massive investments in road infrastructure have allowed large shares of trade to be carried by freight trucks in western Europe and North America. (Source 1)

New products such as the microprocessor, the personal computer, and the cellular phone have contributed to profound socio-political and economic transformation. (Source 1)

There are those unique nations who shape their destinies by choice, by the things that they make happen. (Source 4)

To gain a more detailed understanding of the role the special economic zones have played in urban and regional development in China, we will focus on Shenzhen, the first and the most successful or influential special economic zone in the country. (Source 8)

When the post-Mao leadership under Deng Xiao-ping announced the installation of a brand new municipality called Shenzhen City in March 1979, the locality was largely an unknown rural and fishing place within Baoan County. (Source 8)

The purpose was to spur the development of the area by taking advantage of its location bordering on Hong Kong as part of a greater scheme to boost the country’s southeast regions. (Source 8)

Seventeen years later, the originally small rural county with only 320 thousand residents became a modern and vibrant metropolis with a total population of 3.6 million. (Source 8)

Seventeen years later, the originally small rural county with only 320 thousand residents became a modern and vibrant metropolis with a total population of 3.6 million. (Source 8)

[T]he opening of the Special Economic Zone was due to the nation’s need to start attracting foreign investment under the newly established open policy. The particular measure carried out in Shenzhen was considered as first opening, a “window,” to the outside world. (Source 8)

[T]he opening of the Special Economic Zone was due to the nation’s need to start attracting foreign investment under the newly established open policy. The particular measure carried out in Shenzhen was considered as first opening, a “window,” to the outside world. (Source 8)

There is an abundant and cheap labor supply. (Source 8)

The national focus and extensive domestic and overseas [transportation] connections are critical. (Source 8)