I was born and raised in Northern England and educated at universities in Britain and the United States. I have held appointments at the Universities of Birmingham, Hong Kong, Manchester and Bristol and Visiting Professorships or Fellowships at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Kwansei Gakuin University, Kobe, and at the Universities of  Glasgow, Leeds, New England, Melbourne, Lodz and California at Berkeley, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz. Additionally I have held advisory positions at various national and international agencies including the International Labour Organisation, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the Council of Europe and the UK Parliament. 

Formerly an urban sociologist, my research is now largely concerned with the dynamics and consequences of economic transformation (with a particular focus on East Asia and Europe). In this connection, I was one of the two co-founders of the global production networks perspective, now one of the predominant ways of analysing the relations between foreign investment and economic development. My current research is concerned with Chinese investment in Europe and its consequences. In this connection, I am Co-founder and Vice-Chair of the China in Europe Research Network (EU funded, 2019-2024). 

My books and cognate publications include: Geopolitical Rivalry and the New Global Economic Geography (with S. Rolf, S. Schindler and K.F. Lim); The Wind from the East: China and the Economic Future of Europe (with N. de Graaff); Globalisation with Chinese Characteristics (with R.P. Appelbaum and S.Y. Ho); East Asian Transformation; Industrial Transformation in Eastern Europe in the Light of the East Asian Experience; States and Development in the Asian Pacific Rim (with R.P. Appelbaum); The Globalisation of High Technology Production; Global Restructuring and Territorial Development (with M. Castells).