Protection and Comparative Advantage of Chinese Agriculture: Implications for Regional and National Specialization

This chapter is an empirical contribution to the debate on China’s integration in the world economy. We assess the protection and comparative advantage of China’s major agricultural crops in six regions, using a modified Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM) and 1997-2000 data. We consider the following commodities: early indica rice, late indica rice, japónica rice, wheat, com, sorghum, soybeans, rapeseed, cotton, tobacco, sugarcane, and a subset of fruits and vegetables.