Rising China and the Regionalization of Global Value Chains: The Case of Palm Oil

ABSTRACT China has become a key market for agricultural commodities within a larger shift in markets towards the South, driving major changes in global value chains (GVCs). This article examines these changes through a structural comparison of the palm oil value chains oriented towards markets in China and the European Union. It analyses how the two value chains compare in terms of configuration, key actors and governance. The analysis reveals a pattern of differentiation within the palm oil GVCs based on their end markets, characterized by distinct entry requirements and dynamics of competition among corporate actors in the value chains. Palm oil refiners and traders in Southeast Asia have developed considerable downstream activities not only in China but also in the European Union, although to a lesser extent in the latter. The role of China in these dynamics extends beyond its increased market demand, encompassing its political, cultural and economic links with palm oil‐producing countries and the overseas Chinese diaspora. The article demonstrates that GVCs encompass regional specificities and that regional Asian actors have become increasingly global and can thus no longer be termed ‘Southern’.