文档介绍：JOURNAL OF REGIONAL SCIENCE, VOL. 41, NO. 2, 2001, pp. 317–336
FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT AND REGIONAL EXPORT
PERFORMANCE IN CHINA*
Haishun Sun
The mission, PO Box 80, Belconnen, ACT 2616, Australia. E-mail:
******@
ABSTRACT. This paper investigates the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on
the export performance of China at the provincial level. First, it presents a theoretical
discussion of the impact of FDI on foreign trade, and then an empirical study of the impact
of FDI on the export performance of regions in China. It has been found that the impact
of FDI on exports differs across three macro-regions in China. The effect is stronger in the
coastal region than in the inland regions. Although FDI shows a positive and significant
impact on exports from the central region, its impact on the western region is found to be
insignificant.
1. INTRODUCTION
Since the mid-1980s when China further opened its coastal region and then
the inland regions to foreign direct investment (FDI), the impact of FDI on
the transitional economy has been a topic of debate among policymakers and
economists. An increasing number of studies attempted to document the effects
of FDI on domestic capital formation, productive efficiency, job creation, and
economic growth (., Kueh, 1992; Chen, Chang, and Zhange, 1995; Sun,
1998a, 1998b). These studies confirm the positive role played by FDI in
Chinese economic development and in the transition from a centrally planned
to a market economy. However, there is still a paucity of systematic study on
the impact of FDI on China’s foreign trade, especially export performance at
the provincial level, although it is frequently noted within the debate on the
role of FDI.
The key issue is whether FDI creates or encourages foreign trade, and if
FDI encourages and promotes exports at the national aggregate level, whether
this positive impact varies across different regions in China. The purpose of this