Is China’s Pilot Free Trade Zones Promote Foreign Trade: An Empirical Analysis of  Guangdong Province

Lin Shishi, Chen Yu & Li Changgeng

Abstract

Since 2013, China has set up pilot free trade zones to carry out major institutional innovation attempts in reform and opening up, which has become a unique special economic zone in the world. Based on counterfactual analysis, this paper empirically studies the impact of Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone on the import and export of Guangdong Province. The results show that there is a negative relationship between import and export, which is not in line with the expected judgment. This paper tries to analyze the results from the perspectives of policy effect, the nature of the Pilot Free Trade Zone, regional characteristics and research methods, and further puts forward the research enlightenment and further research direction.