This book develops a conceptual and analytical framework for understanding persistent regional divergence in innovation performance. Instead of treating inequality as a measurable outcome, this book introduces the concept of structural asymmetry as an underlying mechanism embedded in knowledge capacity, institutional coordination, and opportunity structures. This book seeks to move beyond descriptive cluster studies and fragmented empirical cases by offering a transferable theoretical architecture that can be applied across national contexts. This book also examines how contemporary global transitions—such as digitalization, demographic change, and climate transformation—interact with pre-existing regional structures. By linking long-term divergence with institutional governance and emerging technological shifts, this book aims to provide both theoretical depth and policy relevance for scholars, graduate students, and practitioners concerned with regional innovation and structural transformation.

Chen Qi is an associate professor at Shanghai Lixin University of Accounting and Finance. Her research focuses on regional innovation systems, industrial economics, and structural transformation. She has published widely on China’s regional innovation patterns, governance structures, and industrial upgrading trajectories. In this book, she developed the core theoretical framework and analytical architecture and led the conceptual design and integration of the structural asymmetry approach based on qualitative materials, including policy documents, secondary data, and expert interviews.

Liu Chenyu holds a Master’s degree from a UK university and previously worked in auditing and financial analysis at Ernst & Young Huaming LLP. Her background in accounting, finance, and applied economic analysis contributes to the empirical and qualitative analysis of the book.