Greater China

Usage

Multinational corporations frequently use the term when naming their headquarters in the region. For example, Procter & Gamble uses the term to name its regional headquarters in Guangzhou that also operates in Hong Kong and Taipei; Apple uses it when referring to its regional headquarters in Shanghai.

The term is often used to avoid invoking sensitivities over the political status of Taiwan. Contrastingly, it has been used in reference to Chinese irredentism in nationalist contexts, such as the notion that China should reclaim its "lost territories" to create a Greater China.

History

The term has been used for a long time, but with differing scopes and connotations.

During the 1930s, George Cressey, an American academic who did work for the US State Department throughout his career, used the term to refer to the entirety of the territory controlled by the Qing dynasty, as opposed to China proper.{{cite journal Usage by the United States on government maps in the 1940s as a political term included territories claimed by the Republic of China that were part of the previous Qing Empire, or geographically to refer to topographical features associated with China that may or may not have lain entirely within Chinese political borders.

The concept began to appear again in Chinese-language sources in the late 1970s, referring to the growing commercial ties between the mainland and Hong Kong, with the possibility of extending these to Taiwan, with perhaps the first such reference being in a Taiwanese journal Changqiao in 1979.

The English term subsequently re-emerged in the 1980s to refer to the growing economic ties between the regions as well as the possibility of political unification. It is not an institutionalized entity such as the EU, ASEAN, or AU. The concept is a generalization to group several markets seen to be closely linked economically and does not imply sovereignty. The concept does not always include Taiwan, for instance Cisco uses "Greater China and Taiwan" to refer to the market.

References

References

1. (2 April 2014). "Pact row could harm Greater China economic integration: ANZ". Focus Taiwan.
2. [http://www.mtvasia.com/News/200901/20017375.html MTV Channels In Southeast Asia and Greater China To Exclusively Air The Youth Inaugural Ball]{{webarchive. link. (22 May 2009 – MTV Asia)
3. 1 June 2008, [https://tva.onscreenasia.com/2008/05/universal-music-group-realigns-presence-in-greater-china/ Universal Music Group realigns presence in Greater China] {{webarchive. link. (14 December 2017, Television Asia)
4. Lee, James. (6 August 2021). "'Greater China' is a harmful myth".
5. Huang, Jianli. (2010). "Conceptualizing Chinese Migration and Chinese Overseas: The Contribution of Wang Gungwu". Journal of Chinese Overseas.
6. Harding, Henry. (1993). "The concept of "Greater China": Themes, variations and reservations". The China Quarterly.
7. William, Yat Wai Lo. (2016). "The concept of greater China in higher education: adoptions, dynamics and implications". Comparative Education.
8. Harding, Harry. (December 1993). "The Concept of "Greater China": Themes, Variations and Reservations*". The China Quarterly.
9. (18 August 2011). "Apple overtakes Lenovo in China sales". Financial Times.
10. link. Reuters. (29 April 2019)
11. William, Yat Wai Lo. (2016). "The concept of greater China in higher education: adoptions, dynamics and implications". Comparative Education.
12. He, Henry Yuhuai. (2001). "Greater China". M. E. Sharpe.
13. "P&G in Greater China".
14. "Isabel Ge Mahe named Apple's managing director of Greater China". Apple Newsroom.
15. (14 March 2020). "Apple Closes All Its Stores Outside China Over Coronavirus".
16. Tseng, Hui-Yi. (2017). "Revolution, State Succession, International Treaties and the Diaoyu/Diaoyutai Islands". Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
17. Kim, Samuel S.. (1979). "China, the United Nations, and World Order". [[Princeton University Press]].
18. Aretz, Tilman. (2007). "The greater China factbook". Taiwan Elite Press.
19. (18 January 2021). "The Rundown: Pegatron's Tesla Ambitions, Tech Sector Bonuses, and Cisco's New Software Center". Taiwan Topics.