China-ASEAN export rivalry in the US market

In this paper, the degree of export rivalry or competition among China and ASEAN-4 (Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia) is examined using the shift-share methodology. Our results show that overall China was more competitive than ASEAN-4 in its exports to the US. China was more competitive in manufacturing exports whereas ASEAN-4 fared better in agricultural or primary exports. China\u27s advantages in export growth and industry structure vis-à-vis ASEAN-4 were less pronounced before, than after, the onset of the Asian financial crisis, implying that the crisis has indeed affected ASEAN-4 more than China. It has been contended that China\u27s advantage in manufacturing exports could have been accentuated by Hong Kong\u27 production in South China, which has been counted in US trade statistics as China\u27s exports to the US. After disentangling Hong Kong\u27s production in China, the degree of rivalry between China and ASEAN-4 is significantly reduced. Our analysis points to the role of sub-regional production synergy in boosting a country\u27\u27s export competitiveness