Study On The Impact Of The Opening Of High-speed Rail On The Domestic Value-added Rate Of Manufacturing Firms’ Exports

Looking back at the history of China’s trade development,during the tide of economic globalization,China seized the opportunity to embed itself into the global division of labour system by way of processing trade,which significantly boosted economic growth at that stage of development and in the economic environment.However,now that China is entering a new phase of development,the model of using the international circulation as an engine to drive development is no longer sustainable.In the face of rising uncertainties in the external markets,vigorously promoting the domestic circulation and accelerating the marketisation of factors and regional integration is one of the priorities in building a new development pattern of "double circulation".The continuous updating and improvement of China’s transport network system,especially the large-scale construction of the high-speed railway network in recent years,will play a pivotal role in promoting the new development pattern of the double cycle.At the same time,the Domestic Value Added Rate(DVAR),which focuses on the value created by domestic enterprises in the production and processing process,can better reflect the value generated by enterprises in the domestic cycle and better reflect a country’s true position in the global value chain and trade gains.In this context,in order to give full play to the positive externalities of infrastructure construction and enhance the position of China’s manufacturing enterprises in the global value chain,this paper explores whether and how the opening of high-speed rail can affect the mechanism of domestic value-added rate of China’s manufacturing enterprises’ exports,providing a more scientific and objective basis for foreign trade policy formulation and infrastructure layout.This paper concludes the literature on the opening of high-speed rail and export value added,and further analyzes the development and current status of DVAR of China’s high-speed rail construction and firms’ exports.The mathematical model affecting the domestic valueadded rate of exports is also derived with the help of the theoretical framework of Kee&Tang(2016).On this basis,the possible impact of the opening of high-speed rail on the export DVAR of enterprises is discussed in terms of the "innovation spillover effect" and the "cost-plus effect" brought about by the opening of high-speed rail.In terms of empirical analysis,this paper uses a double difference model(DID)to analyze data on the opening of high-speed railways in 289 cities across China,production and import and export trade data of manufacturing enterprises during the same period of 2000-2003,in order to provide empirical support for exploring the relationship between the opening of high-speed railways and the DVAR of enterprises’ exports.The results of the empirical analysis show that:(1)the opening of high-speed rail in cities significantly boosts the export DVAR of manufacturing enterprises;(2)the investigation of the influence mechanism shows that the opening of high-speed rail brings about,innovation spillover effect" and "cost-plus effect",thus promoting the export DVAR of enterprises.(3)The analysis of enterprise heterogeneity shows that there are differences in the impact of the opening of HSR on the export DVAR of different types of manufacturing enterprises.From a regional perspective,the opening of HSR can significantly contribute to the increase in DVAR of enterprises in the eastern region;from the perspective of enterprise nature,the opening of HSR in cities can mainly contribute to the increase in export DVAR of foreign-funded enterprises and private enterprises;from the perspective of factor intensity,the opening of HSR brings significant positive effects on the DVAR of capital-intensive,technology-intensive and labour-intensive enterprises;finally,from the perspective of trade mode,the opening of HSR has a significant positive effect on the DVAR of enterprises in general trade.From the perspective of trade mode,the DVAR of exports of general trade and mixed trade enterprises is more positively influenced by the opening of HSR.Based on the above findings,this paper puts forward four policy recommendations:firstly,continuously improve the high-speed railway network and enhance its coverage to help manufacturing exports transform and upgrade to achieve high-quality development;secondly,actively play the guiding role of the innovation-driven development strategy,attract cutting-edge knowledge,technology and information,introduce policies for the introduction of innovative talents,so as to consolidate the foundation of talents to promote the climbing value of manufacturing exports,improve the innovation environment and speed up the output and utilization of scientific research results;thirdly,promote the balanced development among regions of high-speed railway construction and optimize the layout of high-speed railway networks in small and medium-sized cities and less developed areas;fourth,enterprises should seize the dividends brought by high-speed railway construction and optimize internal resource allocation.