| From the perspective of political economics,this paper abstracts the concept of country as the main unit of the Asia-Pacific value chain,and brings factors such as power,politics,globe forces into the observation on the regional value chain,so as to analyze the history of the dynamic changes of the Asia-Pacific value chain and its effect on regional power structure.The view that this paper regarded the major countries with superior power and high governance level in the Asia-Pacific region as the intentional designers of the division system of Asia-Pacific value chain,is the starting point for analysis to explore the above research topics.In order to find out the power transmission in the Asia-Pacific value chain and wealth distribution mechanism and its effect on regional power structure,this paper combines the theory of network power in sociology and management with the theory of complex interdependence in international relations,and constructs a network power analysis framework for the evolution of the Asia-Pacific value chain and regional power structure.According to this analytical framework,this paper sorts out the transition process of the Asia-Pacific value chain from germination,formation to transformation and reconstruction,and the staged adjustment of the Asia-Pacific power structure that is linked with the process.This paper argues that a country capable of designing and leading the international division of labor needs to have outstanding network capabilities(namely national geoeconomic power)in these aspects: production structure,capital structure,knowledge structure,security structure,and value structure,and have the ability to transfer the above-mentioned networks capability into the governance level of international division of labor control(namely network power including structural power,intellectual power,institutional power,etc).Since the 1960 s,Japan and the United States,with the above-mentioned network capabilities,network power and governance level,have respectively led the formation and development of the international division of labor of "goose model" and the international division of labor in the value chain,and also promoted the transition of the Asia-Pacific value chain from germination to birth.The evolution of the Asia-Pacific value chain has brought about an adjustment in the balance of economic power in this region,prompting a change in the regional power distribution,which can be described as “Japan’s rise as a regional power-the United States strengthens regional hegemony-the trend of multi-polarization increases.”After the global financial crisis in 2008,the Asia-Pacific value chain entered a period of transformation and adjustment of the division of labor due to the slowdown in world economic growth,sluggish demand in developed economies and the rise of China’s economy.As China becomes the supply center of the Asia-Pacific value chain,and other developing economies are increasingly embedded in the value chain,the trend of power transfer and diffusion in the Asia-Pacific value chain and regional power structure has begun to become prominent.Since 2017,the world has undergone major changes unseen in a century,and the Asia-Pacific value chain has also experienced restructuring trend due to the influence of complex factors such as intensified strategic competition among major powers,the vigorous development of digital technology,reform in regional economic governance mechanisms,and the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.The restructuring process of the Asia-Pacific value chain accelerated the transfer and diffusion of power in the Asia-Pacific pattern,intensifying the existing structural conflicts between China and the United States.Thus,the political foundation on which the Asia-Pacific value chain depends is undergoing dividing,and the competition for the advantaged position of the value chain has become the focus among major powers in the Asia-Pacific region.After the analysis of the development of the Asia-Pacific value chain and its impact on the regional power structure,this paper draws the following conclusions on the dynamic evolution of the internal divisional labor structure and network power structure within the Asia-Pacific value chain,as well as the coordinated adjustment of the power structure in the region: First,in terms of the network power structure in the Asia-Pacific value chain,from the 1960 s to the present,the Asia-Pacific value chain has experienced a transitional process of “Japan-US joint dominance-American hegemonic dominance-Sino-US competition dominance".Second,the Asia-Pacific value chain,developing from its budding(“goose model”)to its formation and then up to now,has undergone a transition from the dependent division of labor structure to the capture-type structure.Both of two structure are obviously featured with hierarchical characteristics and both lead to the“value chain lock-in effect”.Third,Japan and the United States are the intentional designers of the above-mentioned two major divisions of labor structure.The dependent-type division of labor structure gradually fell with the decline of Japan in the 1990 s,while the capture-type division of labor structure has been operating so far under the leadership and promotion of the United States.The essence of this division of labor structure is that the United States uses its hegemonic position in the fields of high-tech research,economic and trade mechanism development,and industrial standard formulation to contain developing economies such as China and ASEAN countries at the low end of value chain.As a result,developing economies such as China and ASEAN countries will be deeply involved in the path of dependence of value chain upgrading,and can only carry out “pseudo-upgrade” in the division of labor structure and institutional system set by the United States.Forth,according to the quantitative analysis in this paper,it is known that in2015,China replaced Japan and became the supply center of the Asia-Pacific value chain.Most Asia-Pacific economies have increased value chain links to China.China’s rises in the value chain and economy have challenged the US-led captive division of labor structure,and promoted the process of power transfer and diffusion in the Asia-Pacific region,which has later become the key catalyst for the intensified strategic competition between China and the US.Fifth,entering the era of major changes unseen in a century,the power structure of the Asia-Pacific value chain network has also undergone a series of changes,which further weakened the value chain capture effect of the developed economies in the Asia-Pacific such as the United States and Japan on developing economies such as China.With the development of China’s economy and the rise of its value chain status,the United States is no longer the only country that can influence the overall trend of the Asia-Pacific value chain.The strategies of China and the United States have become the decisive factor affecting the direction of the reconstruction of the Asia-Pacific value chain.The situation has stimulated the continued deterioration of Sino-US relations.Sixth,the intensifying competition among major powers in the Asia-Pacific region allows the current and future restructuring process of value chain in this region more like a politicized trend,and will give the value chain with the characteristics of the normalization of strategic intervention,the intensification of institutional games,and the collectivization of supply network chains. |
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