An assessment of the international competitiveness of China's forest products industry

摘要

Using a cutting-edge method and value-added trade data for 33 countries from 2005 to 2015, we assess the international competitiveness of China's forest products industry in this paper. The international competitiveness is measured with three indices-revealed comparative advantage, and participation and position in the global value chains (GVCs). Our results show that China's forest products industry has gradually moved away from its large-but-weak status and started to mature and participate in the GVCs more competitively. With a strong comparative advantage of cheap labour resources in the past, the country has developed a labour-intensive forest products industry and raised its GVC position together with an ever higher participation. The heightened level of participation has come from the upward-trending, forward participation along the GVCs, whereas the backward participation has witnessed a downward movement over time. This study can thus help the industry identify concrete problems in factor allocation and structural upgrading and formulate specific measures for maintaining and enhancing its competitiveness.