Research On The Spatial Effect Of Trade Facilitation Of Countries Along The "Belt And Road" On China’s Exports Of Mechanical And Electrical Products

With the gradual weakening of traditional tariffs and non-tariff barriers on trade,improving the level of trade facilitation to reduce trade costs has become a hot research topic in various countries.Since China proposed the "Belt and Road" initiative in 2013,trade facilitation has gradually become an important part of the opening-up policies of countries along the route.Since 2004,the proportion of China’s export of mechanical and electrical products to the total export of goods has remained above 50%.Mechanical and electrical products are not only an important component of China’s goods exports,but also the main export products to countries along the "Belt and Road".Therefore,this article analyzes the level of trade facilitation in 44 countries along the "Belt and Road" and studies its impact on China’s export of mechanical and electrical products.This paper first reviews the relevant literature and theoretical basis of trade facilitation and China’s exports of mechanical and electrical products,analyzing the impact mechanism of trade facilitation on mechanical and electrical product exports.Secondly,from three aspects of trade scale,export destination distribution,and commodity structure,the current situation of China’s exports of mechanical and electrical products to the 44 countries along the "Belt and Road" is analyzed.Four primary indicators,including infrastructure,regulatory environment,customs supervision,finance and e-commerce,are selected and refined into 19 secondary indicators to construct a trade facilitation evaluation index system,and the trade facilitation level of each country is calculated using principal component analysis.Finally,using the spatial Durbin model,the spatial spillover effects of the trade facilitation level of the44 countries along the "Belt and Road" on China’s exports of mechanical and electrical products are studied,decomposing it into direct effects,indirect effects,and total effects.The study found that:(1)there is a significant difference in the trade facilitation level among the44 countries along the "Belt and Road," and it is uneven.(2)The trade facilitation level of the countries along the "Belt and Road" has significant spatial dependence,and it has a positive promoting effect on China’s exports of mechanical and electrical products.The distance between China and the countries along the "Belt and Road" and the tariff level of each country will inhibit China’s exports of mechanical and electrical products.(3)The trade facilitation level of the countries along the "Belt and Road" has a spatial spillover effect on mechanical and electrical product exports,and the improvement of the trade facilitation level of trading partners is beneficial to China’s exports of mechanical and electrical products.At the same time,the trade facilitation level in the surrounding areas of trading partners also indirectly affects China’s exports to those countries.Based on the above conclusions,this paper proposes the following suggestions: Strengthen trade facilitation cooperation with countries along the "Belt and Road ";Attaching importance to the existence of the "neighboring country effect";Relying on spatial linkages to achieve coordinated economic growth.