Research On Trade Competitiveness Of China-ASEAN Under The Belt And Road Initiative

Since the launch of the "Belt and Road" initiative,China-ASEAN bilateral trade has developed rapidly.At present,the free trade zone has entered the "upgraded version"development stage,and the relationship has further deepened.While the two sides have achieved a series of achievements through close cooperation,the trade competitiveness cannot be ignored,and the similarity in export structure is the root of trade competition.Because China and ASEAN countries are both developing countries(except Singapore),with little difference in industrial development levels,and they are both in the middle or low end of the global value chain.There may be great similarities in their export structure,which will lead to intense trade competition;at the same time,there are also complementary trade advantages in some specific industries.At present,the academic circles are still controversial about the complementary relationship between China and ASEAN,so the research on the competitiveness of China ASEAN trade can deepen our understanding of bilateral trade,clarify the trade competitive advantages of both sides,and better realize the advantageous complementation for each other,avoid vicious competition,and build the China-ASEAN destiny community.This article studies the export trade structure of China and ASEAN from the perspective of bilateral trade and foreign trade firstly,and then,based on the United Nations Merchandise Trade Statistics Database STIC Rev.3 classification standard,estimates the export similarity between China and the six ASEAN countries in 2001-2018 at both product perspective and market perspective.Finally it combined with the Porter diamond model,conducted an empirical test on the factors affecting trade competitiveness,and made relevant recommendations based on the empirical results.The research results show that China and ASEAN have a large similarity in the product structure and export market,and the ESI index is generally high,indicating that the export structure of the two sides are gradually tending to be consistent,and the trade competition is extremely strong.The degree of competition is developed countries markets > global markets > Developing countries market,but China's advantages in capital-intensive products are more significant,while ASEAN 's advantages in resource-intensive products are more prominent.Among the many factors that affect thecompetitiveness of trade between the two sides,the resource endowments of ASEAN countries show a significant positive correlation.Patent applications,GDP,and private investment all show significant negative correlations.FDI has no significant impact on trade competitiveness.This is expected to change as ASEAN countries' export structures improves.In the future,China and ASEAN can deepen trade exchanges by strengthening their competitive advantages,expanding new trade cooperation,improving the level of trade facilitation,and optimizing investment efficiency,and go hand in hand to jointly promote the construction of the free trade zone and the "Belt and Road".