Analysis on the Current Structure and Characteristics of International Intra-product Specialization

Based on UN Comtrade database, this paper studies the structure and characteristics of international intra-product specialization and China's status in this system by intermediate goods trade. The result indicates that the current international intra-product specialization is still dominated by developed countries and highly involved by developing countries, with the stable expansion, the higher intra-dependency of three areas namely, East Asia, EU and NAFTA, and the growing competition of primary intermediate inputs. China has been an important participant and promoter in international intra-product specialization system. However, China's intermediate goods trade has been in deficit for a long-term, and China is strongly dependent on import of intermediate goods, in which Asian production networks are particularly important for China.