The Impact Of Digital Economy On China’s Export Trade Efficiency

The report of the 20 th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed to promote the high-quality development of the "the Belt and Road".High quality co construction of the "the Belt and Road" is not only an inevitable trend of economic globalization,but also the development vision of the majority of developing countries.The key to the high quality of the "the Belt and Road" trade lies in the improvement of trade efficiency,and the digital economy is an important engine for the high-quality development of trade.In recent years,the global digital economy has developed very rapidly.The competition among countries has begun to transform from the field of resources to the field of digital economy.Digital economy is becoming an important choice for countries around the world to cope with the impact of the COVID-19 and accelerate economic and social transformation.The development of digital economy has led to innovative changes in international trade,which has brought new opportunities.Therefore,based on the analysis of digital economy and international trade related theories,this paper empirically studies the impact of digital economy on China’s export trade efficiency.This paper tries to answer the following questions: Can the development of digital economy promote trade efficiency? What is the mechanism of digital economy affecting trade efficiency? How to further improve China’s trade efficiency with countries along the "the Belt and Road" ?In the theoretical analysis part,this paper expounds the classical trade theory,the neoclassical trade theory,the new trade theory(NTT)and the iceberg cost theory.On this basis,it analyzes the mechanism of the digital economy affecting trade efficiency from two aspects: reducing trade costs and promoting industrial structure transformation.In the empirical research part,this paper selects the panel data of 49 countries along the "the Belt and Road" from 2003 to 2020 as samples,and uses the stochastic frontier gravity model,trade inefficiency model and threshold effect model to study the measurement of trade efficiency between China and countries along the "the Belt and Road",the estimation of influencing factors and the development level of the digital economy,as well as their impact on trade efficiency.Through analysis,this paper mainly draws the following conclusions:(1)The path of digital economy affecting trade efficiency is mainly to reduce trade costs and promote the transformation and upgrading of industrial structure.In terms of transaction costs,the development of digital economy has reduced information costs,search costs,credit costs,institutional costs(before transaction),communication costs and contract signing costs(during transaction),payment costs and delivery costs(after transaction)respectively,thus promoting the development of trade and improving trade efficiency;In terms of industrial transformation and upgrading,the digital economy promotes the birth of virtual enterprises.Enterprises can complement each other’s advantages to promote the rational allocation of resources.The development of industrial digitalization has also changed the traditional trade model,making bilateral trade more efficient.(2)There are obvious differences in the development level of digital economy in countries along the "the Belt and Road".The development level of digital economy in high-income countries is generally high,while that in low-income countries is relatively backward.(3)In the export trade between China and the countries along the "the Belt and Road",there is a widespread problem of trade inefficiency.From the results of trade efficiency measurement,the average efficiency of export trade between China and countries along the "the Belt and Road" is quite different.On the trend of trade efficiency,the average annual trade efficiency between China and the countries along the Belt and Road shows a zigzag upward trend.The "the Belt and Road" initiative has enhanced China’s ability to resist risks in export trade.(4)Through empirical analysis,this paper finds that,on the overall level,the development of digital economy can significantly promote the improvement of trade efficiency.After distinguishing the level of economic development and the level of digital economy development,the regression analysis shows that in countries with low economic development level and high digital economy development level,the role of digital economy in promoting trade efficiency is not significant;In countries with high economic development level and low digital economy development level,the development of digital economy has promoted the improvement of trade efficiency.(5)Further threshold regression shows that the impact of digital economy development on China’s export trade efficiency has a threshold effect.When a country’s digital economy develops to a specific level,the positive impact of digital economy on trade efficiency can be exerted.As a country’s digital economy develops to different levels,the promotion effect of digital economy on trade efficiency is also different.When a country’s digital economy develops to a high enough level,The promotion of digital economy on trade efficiency has been weakened.Based on the theoretical and empirical research results,this paper puts forward two suggestions to help the development of the "the Belt and Road" initiative:(1)Accelerate the construction of the "21st Century Maritime Silk Road".Low cost maritime transport can promote the improvement of trade efficiency.While developing its own port system,China should help coastal countries with low economic development level along the "the Belt and Road" to improve their port construction.(2)Promote the digital process of trade along the "the Belt and Road".The construction of digital infrastructure is the foundation and guarantee for the development of the digital economy.China should help the importing countries along the "the Belt and Road" to improve the construction of digital infrastructure.