关键词: 回顾与展望, 区域研究, 世界区域地理, 中国

Abstract: Based on a review on works of world regional geography accomplished in China during the past 10 years and an analysis of its current problem, the research orientation for further sustained development of the discipline is discussed in this paper. Accompanied by a rapid rise of China, the fields of world regional geography in China have expanded from pure geography research on regions and countries outside China to including the study of global economy and political geography in its quest to satisfy the need of the national development. The major concerns of world regional geography researchers in China in recent years include: (1) research on world geopolitics and geo-economy, e.g. geopolitics-related theories, changing tendencies of geopolitical situations in given places across the world and some hot spots and impacts that geopolitical situations of the powers and surrounding regions have on China; (2) geographical research on international investment and multinational corporations, focusing on theories and mechanism of outward investment, spatial distribution and location determination of foreign investments in China, and analyses of investing scales, modes and performance; (3) theoretical and empirical research on the development of cities and regions in the world, highlighting the researches on laws of formation and mechanism of megalopolis and urban agglomerations around the world and empirical research on major cities in some countries such as USA, Japan, UK and France. The theoretical and empirical research on foreign regions revolves around the theory and practice of“new regionalism”, new regional division of labor, regional interaction and sustainable regional development; (4) research on global resources and environmental protection and conservation, focusing on the exploitation, development and utilization of global natural resources. The most serious one is the issue of energy, which is the main subject of much related research. On the basis of the above points, the authors point out the problems emerging in the development of world regional geography as a discipline in China, such as ineffective research team, insufficient research funds and poor research abilities, as well as differences between China and other countries in this area. Finally, the paper comes to the conclusion that the golden age of world regional geography research in China has arrived, therefore, it is necessary to enhance special research on critical global issues such as geopolitics and geo-economy. Thus, it is imperative to follow through the world geography research plans, such as the comprehensive research on countries and regions closely related to China in the areas of the developing trends of world economy, politics, science and technology and strictly conform with the objectives to implementing the important strategies for national development.

Key words: China, regional studies, retrospect and prospect, world regional geography