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The IUP Journal of International Relations :
New Features of the International Industrial Labor Division and Its Impact on China's Economy
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This paper studies the new features of international industrial structure adjustment and transfer, which is driven by economic globalization and scientific and technological advancements since the 1990s. It mainly analyzes the major impacts on the economy of China by international industries' accelerated transfer and intra-product specialization under globalization. Based on the theory of Modern Dynamic Comparative Advantage and Vertical Specialization, it uses models and empirical tests, and proves that China's large trade surplus is mainly the result of China's international division status and the structural factors of processing and manufacturing links in the international industrial chain. And along with other factors, they led to high foreign exchange reserves and high liquidity. Regression analysis shows that China's exports are mainly pulled by external demands (75%); the exchange rate has a contribution rate of 20% to trade surplus, and the RMB exchange rate adjustment cannot change the trade surplus pattern. When faced with the accelerating international industrial transfer, the deepening international intra-products' division and sustained global trade and economic imbalance, etc., in order to play for China's dynamic comparative advantages and avoid falling into the trap of comparative advantage, in the short term, the expansion of domestic demands is required as an effective way to control the trade surplus, lower the foreign exchange reserve pressure and reduce the liquidity. China should increase imports and overseas investment. In the long term, from the national strategic view, China needs to speed up the implementation of the new type of internationalization strategy. It should implement a package of foreign economic and structural policy reforms, improve the status of the international industrial division, and gradually open its capital account with the support of exchange rate policy adjustments, so as to form a new international competitive advantage.

 
 
 

Since the 1990s, the acceleration of international industrial transfer and deepening of the international industrial division have been changing the structure of international economy. The integration of international economic division system is not just providing China with the historic opportunity but bringing enormous challenges. Currently, excessive foreign trade surplus, abundant foreign exchange reserves and excess liquidity are not only causing concern to China's foreign economic policy, but also to both international industrial transfer and China's position in the international industrial division.

Since the 1990s, developed countries have been adjusting their own industrial structure to improve their labor productivity, to maintain their economic vitality and to increase international competitiveness by transferring their industries, which have lost competitiveness to developing countries. The features are:

The labor-intensive and resource-intensive industries have been transferred to developing countries by developed countries, causing the proportions of manufacturing sector lowered in developed countries, but increased in developing countries. The services sectors' employment proportion of the overall employment has increased 5.3% in the decennium.

The services sector plays an important role in international industrial transfer as the developed countries are transferring their economic structure to technology-intensive and capital-intensive industries. Connecting with the substantial improvement of labor productivity, the developed countries' industries are increasingly concentrated in the high-tech industrial fields, especially the IT industry and technology-intensive industries. Meanwhile, developed countries also speed up the transformation of services sector. Developed countries and emerging countries constantly readjust their own economic structure by transferring industries to developing countries and regions.

 
 
 

International Relations Journal, International Industrial Labor Division, Economic Globalization, Regression Analysis, Structural Policy Reforms, International Economy, Manufacturing Sectors, International Industrial Transformation, Production Process, Multinational Corporations, Multinational Companies, Global Recession, Asian Financial Crisis, Capital Market.