Does China use its trade potential in the Belt and Road Initiative properly? The relations between Chinese value added and trade potential in the European countries: bottom-up analysis

ABSTRACT The aim of research is to evaluate China’s potential trade to selected European markets covered by the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Chinese value added embodied in these countries gross exports. The study tried to answer the question: is there relation between Chinese actual exports coverage of its potential exports to selected European markets and China’s value added embodied in gross exports of its trade partners in Europe. The study covered 54 industries from selected 19 European countries which are the members of Chinese BRI. The study confirmed the positive relationship between Chinese actual exports coverage and China’s value added embodied in gross exports of its selected trade partners in Europe. Moreover, the analysis allowed identifying European markets that were characterized by high export potential for China and still not adequately used both in terms of total exports and value added. The study also identified specific industries, where China was particularly exploiting its exports.