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What Do We Know About Chinese Industrial Subsidies?

Author

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  • François Chimits

Abstract

While Chinese industrial subsidies have been one of the key drivers of international trade tensions, the details of the phenomenon itself are often overlooked. Reviewing the existing datasets and methodologies used to assess Chinese public supports, this Policy Brief tries to bring more clarity on what is known, and what is not. The most frequently used datasets in the literature are dated and/or largely incomplete, and find limited industrial support compared to more specific analyses. To further complicate things, the new development model pursued by the current leadership seems to champion the idea of “guiding” economic entities to align with Party-State objectives, which, by diffusing public intervention throughout the economy, makes it more difficult to assess the scale of subsidies. The Chinese authorities highly structured and detailed communication and policy planning offers alternative metrics to assess the distribution and evolution of public support to the industry, enabling a complementary approach to triangulate the actual subsidies to industrial production in China.

Suggested Citation

  • François Chimits, 2023. "What Do We Know About Chinese Industrial Subsidies?," CEPII Policy Brief 2023-42, CEPII research center.
    • Handle: RePEc:cii:cepipb:2023-42
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    File URL: http://www.cepii.fr/PDF_PUB/pb/2023/pb2023-42.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Bickenbach, Frank & Dohse, Dirk & Langhammer, Rolf J. & Liu, Wan-Hsin, 2024. "Foul play? On the scale and scope of industrial subsidies in China," Kiel Policy Briefs 173, Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
    2. Klaus S. Friesenbichler & Agnes Kügler & Andreas Reinstaller, 2021. "The Impact of Import Competition from China on Firm-level Productivity Growth in the EU," WIFO Working Papers 623, WIFO.
    3. Klaus S. Friesenbichler & Agnes Kügler & Andreas Reinstaller, 2024. "The impact of import competition from China on firm‐level productivity growth in the European Union," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 86(2), pages 236-256, April.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • L52 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Industrial Policy; Sectoral Planning Methods
    • O2 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy
    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations

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