| Since joining the WTO, China has continuously integrated into the international division of labor system and the trade scale of China has obtained "explosive" growth. In 2013, China's total import and export trade in goods reached 4.16 trillion dollar, accounting for 11.5% of total world trade in goods, for the first time surpassed the US as the world's superpower trade in goods, and became the world's first country to break 4 trillion dollar. In the current background of the global value chain division, National participating in all aspects of product production by comparative advantage, developing countries carries out the "import-for-export" trade pattern. Therefore, the increase of the trade quantity cannot be a true reflection of the position of a country in the international division of labor, but cannot show more of a country's export industry has realized the industrial upgrading in the value chain division of labor.Firstly, this paper describes China's overall trade development and trade structure in 2001-2013 by using the trade statistics. Then, based on the theory of global value chain analysis framework, this paper first makes use of the improved HIY method to measure the level of vertical specialization in China 2001-2011 years of general trade, processing trade, and total trade based on the input-output tables. And then uses the export product technology content index which excluding the import technology content to measure the Chinese export industry upgrading in 2001-2011. Based on the industry panel data in 2001-2011, this paper empirically test the effects of vertical specialization through general trade and processing trade on domestic technology content in exports and industrial upgrading. Finally, this paper empirically tests the effects of vertical specialization through general trade and processing trade on domestic technology content in exports and industrial upgrading by using of the industry panel data in 2001-2011.These studies show that China's current trade is dominated by technology-intensive industry, but the large proportion of technology-intensive industry trade is intermediate goods. The overall level of the vertical specialization of China is high, but the big differences exist in the different industries. Technology-intensive industries, such as communications equipment is high, and then is the capital-intensive industries such as Petrochemical industry, labor intensive industry such as the textile industry vertical specialization level is the lowest. The domestic technological content of export products of the labor-intensive industries are higher than the technology-intensive industries'and the growth rate of domestic technological content of export products of labor-intensive industries are faster than the technology-intensive industries. China's participation in the vertical specialization over the past ten years has promoted its product technology content in exports and promoted industrial upgrading. However, participating in vertical specialization through general trade and processing trade will lead to the opposite result. Participating international trade division through general trade is conducive to industrial upgrading, while involved in the value chain through processing trade not only fail to promote industrial upgrading, but may make China into a "comparative advantage trap" and will be long locked in the low end of the value chain.On the basis of the studies, this paper concludes five policy recommendations such as changing trade patterns when participating in the division of the value chain, improving the domestic institutional environment with a view to promote industrial upgrading... |
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