The extensive participation of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in internationalproduction and trade is often cited as a model of success. After joining the World TradeOrganization (WTO) in 2001, the PRC became more closely connected to the rest ofthe world through cross-border production-sharing arrangements. Global value chains(GVCs) were a prominent driving force behind the global economic transformation,with the PRC being one of the major economies that participated in the GVCs.However, greater integration into the world economy came with the risk of becomingmore vulnerable to disruptions in global trade, as in the case of trade tensions betweenthe PRC and the United States (US). Nonetheless, the PRC was able to balancethese risks against the benefits of greater GVC integration, and to build resilience byupgrading its role in GVCs and rebalancing its economy. Both strategies were evident inthe increasing localization of the economy’s production networks, with the support ofits massive, and rapidly growing, domestic consumption base. This policy brief delvesinto this narrative by examining the GVC indicators for the 2000–2019 period, anddiscusses how the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis could amplify current trends.