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Abstract Amidst profound changes in both international and domestic situations, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has made significant strategic arrangements to promote high-quality development in trade. The enhancement of product export technological sophistication, a key indicator for evaluating international division of labor status, stands as a pivotal objective in China’s pursuit of high-quality trade development. Cross-border e-commerce, characterized by its rapid development, enormous potential, and strong driving force in foreign trade, has gradually emerged as a new engine for advancing China’s foreign trade development. Given the paramount importance attached to the development of cross-border e-commerce by the Central Committee, the State Council has established 165 cross-border e-commerce pilot zones in seven batches since 2015, thus fostering a pattern of coordinated development both domestically and internationally. Existing literature has extensively explored the impact of policy experimentation on international trade and the means to enhance product export technological sophistication. However, there remains a lack of systematic theoretical elucidation and empirical analysis regarding the relationship between cross-border e-commerce and export technological sophistication. Consequently, questions arise: Can the establishment of cross-border e-commerce pilot zones positively influence the enhancement of product export technological sophistication? Through what mechanisms do cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones impact export technological sophistication? Is this impact consistent across different products and regions?
Based on the panel data of HS-coded products from 2009 to 2019 across 30 provinces nationwide, this study employs a multi-period difference-in-differences method to investigate the influence of cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones on product export technological sophistication. The findings reveal that the establishment of China cross-border e-commerce pilot zones effectively enhances the technological sophistication of exported products. Furthermore, regarding the heterogeneous effects of the establishment of China cross-border e-commerce pilot zones, from the perspective of product types, the positive impact of cross-border e-commerce pilot zones on the technological sophistication of labor-intensive products is more evident. From the perspective of different levels of Internet penetration in regions, the impact of establishing cross-border e-commerce pilot zones on enhancing product export technological sophistication is more pronounced in regions with higher levels of Internet penetration. In terms of different levels of technological proficiency in regions, the establishment of cross-border e-commerce pilot zones has a more significant impact on enhancing the technological sophistication of products in regions with relatively backward technology levels. From the perspective of regional trade foundations, the impact of establishing cross-border e-commerce pilot zones on enhancing product export technological sophistication is more pronounced in regions with sound trade foundations. Finally, in terms of mechanisms, the establishment of cross-border e-commerce pilot zones can enhance product export technological sophistication by improving the quality of intermediate products and optimizing the business environment. The study makes contributions in three main aspects. Firstly, in theoretical terms, it systematically explores and elucidates the impact pathways and mechanisms of cross-border e-commerce development on the enhancement of product export technological sophistication, enriching theories and hypotheses in this field. Secondly, empirically, based on the HS2 product panel data from 2009 to 2019, this paper uses a multi-period difference-in-differences method to identify the impact of the establishment of cross-border e-commerce pilot zones on product export technological sophistication and conducts a series of empirical tests, enhancing the reliability and rigor of the conclusions. Lastly, in terms of policy recommendations, this paper confirms the remarkable effectiveness of cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones, providing guidance and policy support for the government to promote the growth and strengthening of cross-border e-commerce, thereby facilitating the continuous optimization and upgrading of enterprise import and export activities.
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Published: 20 September 2024
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