Understanding the Phenomenon of Global Value Chain (GVC) Reshoring: China’s Opportunities and Challenges under the Impact of COVID-19.

In the light of recent global developments and the rapid changes in international trade and business, understanding the business reshoring decisions becomes the key discussion among both scholars and policymakers. Despite its growing prevalence, there remains a significant lack of comprehensive understanding regarding why firms choose to relocate their manufacturing footprints. The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, with its unprecedented scale and impact, has further pushed the companies reconsidering their relocation decisions (Wu, 2022). Given the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the specific role China plays in the world's manufacturing and supply chains, it is crucial to understand how the pandemic has influenced reshoring trends, especially within the Chinese context. Moreover, with reshoring presenting a mix of challenges and opportunities, China as the global manufacturing powerhouse, it is imperative to achieve a comprehensive strategy in respond to the reshoring phenomenon (Zheng & Fang, 2020). This thesis endeavors to compare the knowledge identified in existing literatures with an empirical case study from a Chinese firm (CIMIC ENRIC).