Decoding China's Export Miracle: A Global Value Chain Analysis

In less than three decades, China has emerged as the world's largest exporting nation with more than $2 trillion exports annually. China's quick rise as a leading exporter in the world is an unprecedented miracle. There are many theories explaining miracle. This book adopts the global value chain (GVC) approach to analyze the Chinese export miracle over the last four decades. It focuses on the tasks rather than the gross export value and emphasizes the organizations of modern trade rather than the national comparative advantage. The GVC approach systematically explains how, in less than four decades China has evolved from a closed economy to the world's No. 1 exporting nation; why China is a developing country and exported more high-technology products than labor-intensive products to the US; and why almost half of the US trade deficit has originated from China. The book identifies three spillover effects of GVCs that originated from brands, technology and product innovation, and distribution and retail networks firms. It argues that China's deep integration with GVCs has been a decisive factor for China's emergence as the world's No.1 exporting nation and the champion of high-technology exports. In addition, this book uses iPhone trade and the operation of Apple, the largest factory-less American manufacturer, to explain how current trade statistics exaggerate China's exports and its trade balance with the US on the one hand, and underestimate US exports on the other. By using the experience of the Chinese mobile phone industry, the book argues that the GVC strategy can be a short-cut for developing countries to achieve industrialization and enable firms of developing countries to enter high-technology sectors despite their intrinsic disadvantages. At this end, the book also discusses the future trajectory of China-centered GVCs under the shadow of the US-China trade war and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr Yuqing Xing is a Professor of Economics of the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) in Tokyo. He served as the Director of the Capacity Building and Training Department of the Asian Development Bank Institute from 2011 to 2014. He also held positions at World Institute for Development Economics Research, the Bank of Finland, and the East Asian Institute of the National University of Singapore. He provided consulting services to Asian Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund and Japan International Cooperation Agency. Dr Xing's research focuses on global value chains, international trade, foreign direct investment, exchange rates, and Chinese economy. He is a leading expert on global value chains. His research on the iPhone and the Sino US trade balance has been discussed widely in the global mainstream media, challenging conventional views on bilateral trade statistics, and instigating a reform of trade statistics. Dr Xing received his bachelor's and master's degrees from Peking University and his PhD in Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.