Export performance in China's regional economies

China enjoyed unprecedented economic growth in the 1980s and 1990s. Associated with this growth was the rapid expansion of exports from the Chinese regions. This study aims to provide an empirical assessment of export performance in the Chinese regions during 1992–2001. It has shown that, on an average, China's regional economies have only achieved 70% of their export potential, leaving substantial scope for improvement. There is also considerable variation in export performance among the Chinese regions, with the noncoastal areas lagging behind. In addition, this article also shows that several region-specific factors (e.g. foreign direct investment, government spending, infrastructure development and the nonstate sector) have affected regional export performance positively. Furthermore, it is found that the development of China's western regions has boosted and will continue to improve the export sectors in these regions.