Study On Impact Of The Internet Digital Divide On The Trade Between China And The Belt And Road Countries(Regions)

With the 'Belt and Road' initiative proposed and carried forward steadily,this paper studies the impact of the digital divide on the trade between China and the Belt and Road countries in the age of information.We classifies the development level of Internet in Belt and Road countries into four dimensions,and they're respectively the Internet penetration rate,mobile Internet,fixed broadband Internet and Internet security,then studies the differences of their impacts on China's export trade flow with these countries.At the same time,according to the current situations of the development of the information technology in the Belt and Road countries and China's direct investment(FDI)in these countries and regions,we continue to analyze the regulatory effect of these two factors on the impact of the Internet digital divide on the China's export trade flows to its Belt and Road trading partners.Based on the trade data between China and countries along the Belt and Road from 2011 to 2015,the data of Internet development in China and these countries and the data of China's FDI to them,this paper establishes the trade gravity model for further empirical research,the study result shows that the negative effect of digital divide in fixed broadband Internet on China's export trade with the Belt and Road countries is the biggest,Internet security is the smallest.In the view of the theoretical and empirical studies,together with the reality of the deepening connectivity along the Belt and Road,this paper reviews the achievements made by China in enhancing Internet infrastructure construction in these countries and regions and the results of China's direct investment in them,also sorts out the priorities of developing Internet in these regions,what's more,we also provide corresponding suggestions to the policymaker in China to push forward the construction of information infrastructure so as to narrow down the Internet digital divide along the Belt and Road and eliminate information barriers,therefore to promote bilateral trade and achieve beneficial cooperation among these countries.