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Decoupling from Chinese technology? Navigating current trends in Sino-European service relations

Ewa Cieślik (Poznań University of Economics and Business, Poznań, Poland)

International Journal of Emerging Markets

ISSN: 1746-8809

Article publication date: 19 December 2024

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Abstract

Purpose

The article focuses on cross-sectoral analysis concerning services, especially ICT services, flowing from China to European manufacturing. The aim of the study is to analyse Sino-European relations in terms of ICT servicification. The article attempts to answer the following questions: does China’s relationship with Europe in terms of the servicification of manufacturing align with global servicification trends? Have global economic shocks, such as decoupling policies, diminished the flows of Chinese ICT services in European advanced manufacturing sectors?

Design/methodology/approach

This study employed input–output models to analyse the increasing role of China as a supplier of ICT services to European manufacturing. It also identified the industries that are most dependent on Chinese ICT services.

Findings

The analysis highlights the increasing reliance of European manufacturing on Chinese ICT services, with a notable rise across both Western Europe and CEE. This dependency is particularly strong in advanced sectors such as automotive and electronics, and there is no evidence of decoupling from China, even amidst global shocks or geopolitical tensions like the Trump presidency. Additionally, the BRI had limited direct impact, as the servicification trends appear driven more by broader globalization processes.

Originality/value

The study investigates all European countries and their manufacturing sectors’ reliance on Chinese services. It concentrates on services related to high technology, specifically ICT. Moreover, the previous research has focused on servicification of manufacturing, in general, neglecting industry-specific analysis. It contributes to the literature by providing insights into the relationships between developing and developed economies in terms of GVCs in the context of digital servicification and decoupling conditions.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank the anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments on the earlier draft. All opinions and any errors remain solely the author’s own.

Funding: The article is the result of the research project ‘Digital Silk Road as a network of technological connections between China and Europe within value chains: towards win-win or decoupling?’ financed by the National Science Centre, Poland (UMO-2021/43/B/HS4/01079).

Citation

Cieślik, E. (2024), "Decoupling from Chinese technology? Navigating current trends in Sino-European service relations", International Journal of Emerging Markets, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOEM-02-2024-0307

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited

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