Technological structure and its upgrading in China's exports

Bibliographic Data

ID12917868
AuthorsRudai Yang (Peking University), Yang Yao (0000-0002-7240-2688, Peking University, corresponding author), Ye Zhang (0009-0002-2442-4804, Nanjing University)
Year2009
Volume2
Issue1
Pages55-71
Publication date2009-06-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueChina Economic Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1753-8963 • E-ISSN: 1753-8971
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17538960902860089
OpenAlexW1987886272
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited7

Based on several indexes, this article investigates technological upgrading in China's exports. It demonstrates that the whole technological contents of China's exports have been improved dramatically since the early 1980s. In the meantime, the domestic technological contents are likely experiencing a V-curve, i.e. decreasing first and then increasing later. Native enterprises grow faster than their foreign direct investment (FDI) counterparts through ‘learning-by-doing’, and the gap between them is narrowing. It is shown that China's exports have adopted a limited catch-up strategy rather than solely following its comparative advantage. Under the limited catch-up strategy, China exports products with technological contents higher than what was predicted by its comparative advantage. In addition, the experience of South Korea and Taiwan as well as cross-country comparison demonstrates that adopting a limited catch-up strategy is conducive to economic development. We argue that this is what is taking place in China

Business · China · Comparative advantage · Economic geography · Economics · Foreign direct investment · Geography · International economics · International trade · Investment (military · Macroeconomics · Political science · Revealed comparative advantage · Technological change · Economic and Technological Innovation · Global Trade and Competitiveness · Global trade and economics