I was born and raised in the Counties of Durham and York in Northern England and was 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 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. 

My research is largely concerned with the dynamics and consequences of economic transformation (with a particular focus on East Asia and Europe). In this connection, I was a co-founder 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 a Co-founder and Vice-Chair of the EU-COST China in Europe Research Network. 

My books and cognate publications include: The Wind from the East: China and the Economic Future of Europe (with Nana de Graaff); Globalisation with Chinese Characteristics (With Richard P. Appelbaum and Suet Ying 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 Richard P. Appelbaum);  The Globalisation of High Technology Production;  Global Restructuring and Territorial Development (with Manuel Castells); and Race, Class and State Housing (with Valerie Karn).