Prof. Yang started her presentation with the background of studying China’s Greater Bay Area. She first reviewed the literature on economic geography and pointed out the urgency to study the intersection between global production network and digital platform. The China’s “platform model” in the varieties of digital capitalism is characterised by state-sponsored. 

The first empirical study is about Tencent in China’s games industry. The digital transformation of global gaming industry is characterised by the shift to mobile gaming. Tencent’s position as the leading app store (MyApp) for games distribution in China in horizontal integration between domestic app stores and vertical integration with local game publishers, developers, and end consumers in China’s domestic market. Based on the operation of Tencent, she unpacked the framework of platform-led industrial restructuring. 

The second empirical study is about the social consequences of digitalisation. Prof. Yang discussed the inter-city digital gaps among older adults in the Greater Bay Area. Based on focus group interviews with HK older migrants and questionnaire surveys with Shenzhen local elders, this research investigates this issue in these two places. It finds that in HK, the digital gaps are narrowing but still here. Older migrants in HK felt a sense of helplessness. In Shenzhen, local elders find the use of apps is not difficult. Based on the finding, she pointed out some policy suggestions, such as tailored training and design for HK elder migrants. 

The presentation concluded with a discussion on digital platform-led economic and social transformation in cities and regions in the digital age.