DIGITAL ERA EXPORTS: EVALUATING ASEAN'S INFLUENCE ON CHINA'S TRADE ADVANTAGES

Abstract

The digital economy, heralded as a new economic paradigm, has emerged as a formidable driver of national economic growth. The "2019 Digital Economy Report" from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development underscores that the digital economy encompasses not only digital industries like information technology but also industrial digitalization, the infusion of digital technology into traditional sectors, leading to their transformation into pillars of the digital economy. The evolution of the digital economy, the advancement of digital technology, and the rapid adoption of digital tools have all ascended to a strategic national priority, playing a pivotal role in socioeconomic development and enhancing living standards. In the era of economic globalization, international trade agreements, such as China's free trade areas with other nations, have fortified regional commercial cooperation and trade interactions. However, within the global value chain, intermediate goods traverse borders multiple times, engendering issues of "double counting" in traditional trade metrics based on total commodity values. Consequently, these metrics fail to accurately gauge the value added by individual countries. Enter the trade benefit index, grounded in value-added trade statistics, offering a more precise reflection of a nation's real gains from international trade and serving as a vital indicator of trade prowess.