NEWS & EVENTS

Decoding China’s Export Miracle: A Global Value Chain Analysis

On September 29th, 2022, Professor Yuqing Xing from the Tokyo-based GRIPS (National Graduate Institute For Policy Study) presented the findings from his recently published book, Decoding China’s Export Miracle: A Global Value Chain Analysis.

Dr. Xing discussed the significance of global value chains (GVCs) in the contemporary economy. Using China’s manufacturing of the iPhone as a case study, he asserted that it is Chinese firms’ deep integration in GVCs led by multinational corporations, rather than competitive advantage, that has resulted in China’s ‘export miracle.’ He further discussed the importance of assessing value-added based on intangible assets, such as marketing and R&D, when evaluating a given product’s economic impact on a country. Dr. Xing explained that these intangible assets and their spillover effects are often interpreted incorrectly, when looking at a given set of countries’ balance of trade.

Finally, he considered the potential impact that this may have on a given country’s taxation policies, as this oversight would potentially lead to under- or over-reported earnings.