Can anyone help me to understand this sentence?

Question

I got this sentence in an on-line course, it's about Global Value Chain.

But the full benefits of being part of a GVC (Global Value Chain) way of organizing production and of all the technological and managerial innovations that go with that are more readily associated with complex products. The question of how to think about primary products is one of many areas, in which the place where the old economy stops and the new GVC economy starts is in the eye of the beholder.

Regardless of what countries are producing, exporting and importing, every country is influenced by global values chains in some way. A better understanding of GVCs is essential for developing strategies to harness international trade for economic and social upgrading and rising standards of living".

Can any one help to explain the bold sentence? I know the meaning of each single word but I cant get it in total.

Answer 1

The question of how to think about primary products is one of many areas, in which the place where the old economy stops and the new GVC economy starts is in the eye of the beholder.

Here, non-GVC-based production is labelled "the old economy".

The sentence states that the precise distinction between GVC-based and non-GVC-based production is "in the eye of the beholder", i.e. something that different people will perceive differently, or a matter on which opinions will differ.

In other words, the boundary between the two isn't entirely clear.