The Sino-US trade conflict: Global Value Chain Reconstruction and International Capacity Cooperation/中美贸易冲突、全球价值链重构与国际产能合作

Abstract

Abstract: At present, China-US economic and trade relations have entered a period of frequent frictions and economic and trade relations have changed from "ballast stone" (stable) Sino-US relations to "fire" (unstable). The US government frequently launches trade disputes with China, uses various trade relief tools to protect domestic sensitive industries and adopts unilateral trade measures to increase the price of Sino-US trade negotiations. Faced with the trend of US unilateralism in trade and the sustained slowdown of the global economy, the key questions are; how to improve China's right to speak and rule in the field of international trade and investment? How to enhance the ability of China and the vast number of developing countries to participate in the global value chain division of labor? Based on the perspective of global value chain reconstruction, this paper analyzes the industrial policy choices and micro-foundation of China's ability to participate in global economic governance based on the experience and evidence of China-Lithuania economic and trade investment cooperation. The study found that developed countries led by the United States have attracted domestic and foreign industrial capital and production factors to return to their own countries, raising the threshold for foreign investment and technical cooperation in developed countries. On the contrary, the space for seeking international capacity cooperation among developing countries has greatly increased. If the integration of the “Belt and Road” value chain is substantially promoted, China and the countries along the route will gradually transfer from the low-end state of the global value chain, which is embedded in Europe and America, to the regional value chain form of high value-added links of mutual benefit and win-win scenarios.

Keywords: Sino-US trade conflict; Regional value chain; International capacity cooperation; Global economic governance.