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A dynamic evaluation on the international competitiveness of China's rare earth products: An industrial chain and tech-innovation perspective

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  • Shuai, Jing
  • Peng, Xinjie
  • Zhao, Yujia
  • Wang, Yilan
  • Xu, Wei
  • Cheng, Jinhua
  • Lu, Yang
  • Wang, Jingjin

Abstract

In the past decades, China's rare earth products have occupied a very important position in the international market. However, the existing literature still lacks an in-depth investigation on how competitive China's rare earth element (REE) products are, especially from an industrial chain and tech-innovation perspective. In this study, we developed a new revealed comparative advantage (NRCA) method by projection pursuit modeling and adopted the constant market share (CMS) model for measuring the long-term dynamic trends of the international competitiveness of China's REE exports. The results show that: (1) The international competitiveness of China's REE products has declined sharply in the past decade, and rebounded only in recent years; (2) The comparative advantages of China's REE products in the industrial chain vary greatly, the mid- and down-stream products have strong comparative advantages, while those in the upstream have no competitive edge; (3) China's REE market share is highly concentrated, and its market structure evolution reveals that the up- and mid-streams have been optimizing, but deteriorating in the down-stream. Based on these findings, we proposed relevant policy recommendations accordingly.

Suggested Citation

  • Shuai, Jing & Peng, Xinjie & Zhao, Yujia & Wang, Yilan & Xu, Wei & Cheng, Jinhua & Lu, Yang & Wang, Jingjin, 2022. "A dynamic evaluation on the international competitiveness of China's rare earth products: An industrial chain and tech-innovation perspective," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:75:y:2022:i:c:s0301420721004530
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2021.102444
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    4. Honorata Nyga-Łukaszewska & Tomasz M. Napiórkowski, 2022. "Does Energy Demand Security Affect International Competitiveness? Case of Selected Energy-Exporting OECD Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-19, March.
    5. Yang, Xiaoming & Islam, Md. Monirul & Mentel, Grzegorz & Ahmad, Ashfaq & Vasa, László, 2024. "Synergistic dynamics unveiled: Interplay between rare earth prices, clean energy innovations, and tech companies' market resilience amidst the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine conflict," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
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