China’s Shifting Roles in Asian Electronics Trade Networks: Implications for Regional Value Chains

In recent decades, the rise of China and other emerging Asian economies transformed the way the Asian economy was connected internally and externally. The global recession, the expansion of South–South trade, and the rising tide of the digital economy further reshaped the patterns of cooperation and competition among Asian countries and firms as well as their relationship with the outside world. The recent U.S.–China trade war and the disruption of global value chains (GVCs) caused by the coronavirus outbreak are testing the resilience of regional connections. This chapter examines the changing dynamics of Asian production networks and China’s shifting position therein over the last decade, focusing on electronics which has been a centerpiece of East Asia’s industrial growth. The chapter specifically analyzes inter-regional and intra-Asian trade networks, using international trade data from 2007 to 2018. The trade networks are investigated at sector (electronics), product group (final and intermediate goods), and individual product (semiconductor and mobile phone) levels. The analysis confirms the region’s rising importance in GVCs and highlights a varying degree of shift in the division of labor between China and other Asian countries in different products. The findings are discussed in conjunction with China’s position in a post-pandemic world.