On December 6th, the 14th Annual Conference of the China Council for the Study of International Trade (CTRG) was successfully held at Lingnan University in Hong Kong. The conference was hosted by the Department of Economics at Lingnan University, co-organized by the Center for International Finance and Economics Research (CIFER) at Tsinghua University's PBC School of Finance, and supported by the School of Business and the "International Trade Theory and Policy" Innovation Team of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.CTRG Vice President, Professor at the University of International Business and EconomicsYin XiaopengModerator of Sub-Forum 3. Research Assistant Professor, Hong Kong Baptist UniversityZhan ChaoqunAssistant Professor at Hong Kong University of Science and TechnologyGong KaijiPresenting a research paper. Vice Chairman of CTRG, Professor at the University of Hong Kong.Zhang HongsongWith Assistant Professor at the University of Hong KongLi HaishiComment on the article.Zhan Chaoqun, Research Assistant Professor, Hong Kong Baptist UniversityFirst, let me share the article "Upstream Capital Export and Downstream Productivity”。
Zhan Chaoqun is a Research Assistant Professor at the Business School of Hong Kong Baptist University. His research interests include global value chains, multinational corporations, and the Chinese economy. His papers have been published in [Journal Name - not specified].Journal of International Economics, Journal of Development EconomicsHe has published in journals such as [Journal Name]. He received his PhD in Economics from the University of Hong Kong.
Zhan Chaoqun explained,This articleThis study uses Chinese data to investigate how a country's exports of upstream intermediate inputs (including capital goods and intermediate goods) affect the productivity of domestic downstream firms. Using changes in global import demand as an instrumental variable, the study finds that China's exports of upstream capital goods (rather than intermediate goods exports) have a significant positive impact on the productivity of downstream firms. Mechanism testing shows that capital goods exports improve product quality, the number of Chinese firms exporting the product, the number of destinations, and the industry's average productivity. These effects are transmitted by increasing downstream firms' use of domestic capital goods.Furthermore, the study found that the positive effect on downstream productivity is more significant when upstream suppliers export capital goods to high-income regions. This finding demonstrates that international technology diffusion in global supply chains depends on how domestic production participates in global production networks, providing another perspective on the contribution of trade to China's economic growth over the past few decades.Zhang Hongsong, Vice Chairman of CTRG and Professor at the University of Hong KongZhang Hongsong commented on this.This article's conclusions combine the effects of foreign and domestic technology spillovers, emphasizing the role of domestic production networks and capital goods trade in international technology flows, thus filling a gap in the relevant literature.He then offered three suggestions: First, to examine the mechanism by which reduced capital and raw material import costs improve the productivity of downstream buyers; second, to conduct a more detailed analysis of the underlying mechanisms, distinguishing between R&D inputs and productivity-enhancing investments, while further examining the effectiveness of instrumental variables; and third, to further analyze the welfare impact of upstream capital goods exports, including their effects on technology/prices/costs, and the dynamic effects of technology spillovers.Subsequently,Gong Kaiji, Assistant Professor at Hong Kong University of Science and TechnologyShare article "Equity Financing and Exports: Evidence from IPO Approvals in China”。
Gong Kaiji is an Assistant Professor at the Business School of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. His research interests include international trade,Innovation, entrepreneurship, etc. He received his doctorate from Stanford University.Gong Kaiji explained that the article utilizes China's unique institutional background for analysis. In China, the approval-based IPO system requires companies to pass a rigorous review process to obtain listing qualifications. Their empirical strategy compares companies that successfully pass the IPO application with those that "nearly" succeed—that is, those that are rejected at the final review meeting during the IPO review process.Difference-in-differences analysis revealed that IPO approval leads to a significant increase in corporate export value of approximately 40% over the following six years. Unlike existing research on debt financing, the impact of equity financing is primarily generated through broad marginal effects (extending to more destination-product markets).Furthermore, the article also found that equity financing promotes corporate exports through multiple economic mechanisms, including facilitating the accumulation of intangible capital, reducing information friction, and encouraging companies to explore riskier overseas markets.
Li Haishi, Assistant Professor at the University of Hong KongIn the review session, the researcher highly praised the empirical strategy, data processing, and robustness tests of the study. He offered two suggestions: First, he suggested further examining the role of bank financing, whether IPOs alleviate financial constraints to a greater extent than bank financing, whether there are fundamental differences between equity financing and debt financing beyond the differences in the scope of financial shocks, and whether framing the paper to examine the impact of easing financial constraints on (new)trade outcomes would be better. Second, considering that intangible investment is related to various firm-level achievements and product-level characteristics, other channels besides intangible investment cannot be easily ruled out and require further examination. Furthermore, he suggested analyzing the impact of IPOs on other firm performances, such as imports, and the roles of investment banks and private equity/venture capital (PE/VC).
