Export diversification in the national blue economic system: a case study of China

Abstract On the basis of the national blue economic system, this paper proposes an index system to measure the degree of its diversification, and takes China as an example for analysis. We find that (i) China’s original export of simple blue products at the periphery of the blue product space has gradually shifted to the production and export of both simple blue products at the periphery and complex blue products at the core. (ii) China’s blue firms have gradually transitioned from original single production to diversified production, and firms with more types of blue products that can be developed are generally located in a few inland areas. (iii) The top 7 provinces with the strongest diversity development in China are Guangdong, Shanghai, Shandong, Beijing, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Liaoning, whereas the provinces with weaker diversity development are generally inland provinces such as Yunnan, Shanxi, Hubei, Heilongjiang, and Jiangxi.