Comparative advantages of China’s wind energy products: a Belt-and-Road perspective

Abstract

By adopting the constant market share model and revealed comparative advantage approach, this paper measured the long-term trends of the comparative advantages of China’s wind energy products, based on the UN Comtrade data of 2007–2016 from the Belt and Road perspective. The results indicate that: (1) the international competitiveness of wind energy products in China is constantly increasing, and the competition effect has become the dominant factor for export growth; (2) China’s exports of wind energy products to the Belt and Road countries have been continuously rising, especially in the ASEAN and South Asian markets; (3) the export structure of China’s wind energy products has been optimized with a limited degree; (4) China’s wind energy products have a small market share in the markets where the import demand growth increases rapidly; and (5) the comparative advantages of China’s wind energy products have been on the rise in the past decade, yet the overall comparative advantages are still weak. Finally, relevant policy recommendations are proposed accordingly based on the above conclusions.