The Path and Threshold Effect of Digitalization on the Competitiveness of China's Manufacturing Export

Since its traditional comparative advantages are on the wane,China should use digital economy to enhance its competitiveness of manufacturing export.Based onmicroscopic data of various regions in China from 2013 to 2020,this paper studies the relationship between digital economy and China's competitiveness of manufacturing export,the internal mechanism of their influence,and the boundary conditions for the establishment of the relationship between digital economy and competitiveness of manufacturing export.Our conclusions include that:there is a significant positive spatial correlation between digital economy and export competitiveness;digital economy can not only enhance the export competitiveness of the region,but also have a positive impact on that of adjacent regions;innovation efficiency,the accumulation of human capital and synergistic agglomeration exerts a mediating effect when digital economy impacts China's export competitiveness;and with the share of import trade as the threshold variable,the facilitating effect of digital economy on the export competitiveness of the western region is lower than that ofthe eastern region before the threshold,but significantly higher than that of the eastern,central and northeastern regions as well as the whole country after the threshold.Therefore,China should vigorously promote the construction of new digital infrastructure in the western region,and give full play to the role of new digital infrastructure in promoting trade upgrade.Through the improvement of human capital quality,the centralized development of digital economy and the overall improvement of innovation efficiency,we should gradually improve the international competitiveness of China's export enterprises.

Promoting China’s Industrial Upgrading by Expanding the Opening-Up of Service Industry:Intrinsic Logic and Realization Approach

Tertiarization and service globalization are becoming an irreversible trend,which is highlighted in the following aspects:the value added of service industry is contributing more and more to the GDP of major economies,service industry is becoming the main channel to absorb social employment,and the service trade has become the most active mode of international trade.In building the export-oriented economic development strategy,expanding the opening-up of service industry not only is essential to the high-quality development of service industry,but also can realize the transformation and upgrading of China’s economy by improving the resource allocation efficiency of manufacturing industry through the integration of industry development.It is a huge systematic project to promote the industrial upgrading by expanding the opening-up of service industry,which requires comprehensive measures:continuously optimizing the institutional environment for the development and opening-up of service industry,taking the development of productive service industry and two-way opening-up as the priority,promoting the international competitiveness of service trade by“entering WTO for the second time”,recognizing the role of“digital plus”in the service opening-up and industrial upgrading;building a financial system to meet the needs of an open economy.

Better Economy Provides Bigger Space for Reform

Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics reveal that the Chinese economy performed in a stable manner and had good momentum for growth in August.In the month,the output of industrial enterprises above the designated size——an annual revenue from their main business operations of 20 million yuan($3.04 million)——grew 6percent in real terms.Moreover,in the

Trilemma,RMB exchange rate regime reform,and policy orientation after August 2015

The discussions on RMB exchange rate could not depart from the ongoing reform of RMB exchange rate regime,which must be designed and promoted as an integral part of the large open economy macroeconomic policy framework.As a large open economy facing the trilemma,China should explicitly establish the principle of domestic monetary policy dominance in the impossible trinity,with the exchange rate policy and capital account management should both conform to this fundamental principle.Simplistically pegging RMB to the US dollar will result in lack of flexibility and violate this principle.Especially against the backdrop of unsynchronized economic cycles of major economies and the prospect of further Fed tighten up,that the real effective exchange rate of RMB moves passively along with the US dollar cannot reflect the relative changes in economic fundamentals in China and abroad,which will cause distortions,resulting in resource misallocations and loss of welfare.The reform of RMB exchange rate regime should be market-oriented,towards a direction with more flexibility.

Coordinating Fiscal Policy With Reforms

The proactive fiscal policy deserves much of the credit for helping the Chinese economy maintain stable growth in a volatile external environment during 2018.Throughout the year,the fiscal policy was generally expansive,and the government made great efforts to lower taxes and administrative fees.Value-added tax,corporate income tax and personal income tax were all cut,saving an estimated 1.3 trillion yuan ($189.5 billion)in 2018,The scale of fiscal expenditure was also appropriate with the fiscal deficit ratio standing at 2.6 percent.