The People’s Republic of China’s High-Tech Exports: Myth and Reality
Xing, Yuqing | April 2012
Abstract
Trade statistics portray the People's Republic of China (PRC) as the largest exporter of high-tech products. In this paper I will argue that the PRC’s leading position in high-tech exports is a myth created by outdated trade statistics which are inconsistent with trade based on global supply chains. Current trade statistics mistakenly credit entire values of assembled high-tech products to the PRC, thus greatly inflating its exports. In 2009, the PRC’s value-added accounted for only about 3% of the total value attributed to its exports of iPhones and laptop personal computers. Moreover, 82% of the PRC’s high-tech exports were produced by foreign-invested firms, in particular Taipei,China-owned companies. In this paper I will argue that a value-added-based approach should be adopted to accurately measure high-tech exports. Furthermore, if assembly is the only source of the value-added generated by PRC workers, in terms of technological contribution these assembled high-tech exports are no different from labor-intensive products, and so they should be excluded from the high-tech classification.
Citation
Xing, Yuqing. 2012. The People’s Republic of China’s High-Tech Exports: Myth and Reality. © Asian Development Bank Institute. http://hdl.handle.net/11540/1120. License: CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO.Keywords
Development In East Asia
Development Planning
Development Research
Technology Development
Development strategy
Development models
Economic development
New technology
Economic development projects
Economic forecasting
Economic development projects
Municipal government
Technology transfer
Exchanges of patents and technical information
Technical education
Technology transfer
Technocracy
Show allCollapse
Citable URI
http://hdl.handle.net/11540/1120Metadata
Show full item recordRelated items
-
The Rise of the “Redback” and the People’s Republic of China’s Capital Account Liberalization: An Empirical Analysis of the Determinants of Invoicing Currencies
Ito, Hiro; Chinn, Menzie (Asian Development Bank Institute, 2014-04-07)We investigate the determinants of currency choice for trade invoicing in a cross-country context while focusing on the link between capital account liberalization and its impact on the use of the renminbi (RMB). We find that while countries with more developed financial markets tend to invoice less in the US dollar, countries with more open capital accounts tend to invoice in either the euro or ...We investigate the determinants of currency choice for trade invoicing in a cross-country context while focusing on the link between capital account liberalization and its impact on the use of the renminbi (RMB). We find that while countries with more ... -
Growth Pattern, Employment, and Income Inequality: What the Experience to Republic of Korea and Taipei,ChinaT Reveals to the People’s Republic of China. Asian Development Review, Vol. 25(1-2), pp. 100-118
Li, Shi; Luo, Chuliang (Asian Development Bank, 2008-08-23)The People’s Republic of China (PRC) achieved rapid economic growth during the last 30 years, but its income distribution has worsened. In contrast, Republic of Korea and Taipei,China experienced high growth for several decades after the 1950s, while managing to keep income inequality low. This paper looks at development experiences of Republic of Korea and Taipei,China in the 1950s–1990s, and ...The People’s Republic of China (PRC) achieved rapid economic growth during the last 30 years, but its income distribution has worsened. In contrast, Republic of Korea and Taipei,China experienced high growth for several decades after the 1950s, while ... -
The People’s Republic of China’s Growth, Stability, and Use of International Reserves
Aizenman, Joshua; Jinjarak, Yothin; Marion, Nancy P. (Asian Development Bank Institute, 2014-01-24)In the run-up to the financial crisis, the world economy was characterized by large and growing current account imbalances. Since the onset of the crisis, the People’s Republic of China and the United States have rebalanced. As a share of gross domestic product, their current account imbalances are now less than half their pre-crisis levels. For the People’s Republic of China, the reduction in its ...In the run-up to the financial crisis, the world economy was characterized by large and growing current account imbalances. Since the onset of the crisis, the People’s Republic of China and the United States have rebalanced. As a share of gross domestic ...