China's Industrial Restructuring and Foreign Trade Strategy : Asian Regional Perspectives

摘要

Since the initiation of the open door policy and concomitant economic reform in 1978, China has been playing a growing role in global trade. It is the purpose of this paper to examine the evolution of China's foreign trade, contending that such participation both necessitates and is in itself a product of industrial restructuring, in turn mandating further economic reform. It is contended that global market change has impacted on the structure and competitiveness of China's exports. Such factors as the direction of Chinese trade, the composition of imports and exports to different regions of the world, supply -demand relationships and price elasticities will be brought into focus. For example, at the inception of the open door policy China was essentially an exporter of raw materials and primary products; latterly, manufactures have increased in export composition. While imports of high technology remain crucial, purchase of energy resources is putting pressure on global supplies. A major watershed was China's admission to the WTO in late 2001, facilitating the entry of foreign products hitherto subject to tariff and non - tariff barriers. Discussion will bring into focus policy choice; the full utilization of granted exemptions and grace periods, and the respective merits of free trade and protectionism, especially in relation to the defence of infant industries. Examples will be drawn from specific sectors. Additionally, features of the world economy influencing China's foreign trade strategy have included the formation of regionalblocs and the production networks characteristic of globalization. The potential for trade friction has increased because of China's trade surplus with the EU and the United States. This factor, together with China's inward and-outward FDI, an integral part of global production networks, raises the issue of Chinese commitment to the creation of free trade areas in East Asia and in the wider context of ASEAN, reflecting the projection of Chinese power in the region. It will be concluded that the mutual interaction between. China's industrial restructuring and foreign trade strategy serves to further the objectives of Chinese economic development and great power status.