State-Owned Enterprises Play a Smaller, But Still Strategic, Role in China's External Sector

Abstract

China’s external sector has been the engine behind the country’s robust economic growth over the past four decades. By 2016, China’s total merchandise trade accounted for 16.1% of the world total, compared to 0.6% in 1978 when its economic reforms were initiated. China’s rapid trade growth was attributable to a series of interrelated factors. This briefing focuses on one of those factors—China’s declining dependence on state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in much, but not all, of its trade activity. Using the latest data, and starting from 1995 when official trade statistics became more reliable, this briefing (a) describes SOEs’ declining influence in China’s trade and (b) highlights prominent sectoral exceptions where Chinese SOEs still affect global market conditions.

Keywords: China, trade, soe, state-owned enterprises

JEL Classification: E00, F00