Abstract: Expanding the volume of imported intermediate goods is strategically important to promote global production, expand technology spillovers and improve firms' innovation capability. It is of great significance to explore how to promote the diffusion of advanced technologies and advanced production factors through the import trade under the background of China's new development paradigm featuring dual circulation. How to grasp the strategic opportunity to expand the intermediate import and deepen the scope, field and level of the intermediate import is a key issue for the promotion of the innovation capability of Chinese enterprises.
This paper analyzes the spillover process of knowledge in import enterprises from the perspective of multi-dimensional evolution of the intermediate goods import. Our findings,based on the China Customs Data, Chinese Industrial Enterprise Dataand the Enterprise Patent Data, are as follows: First, the import of related intermediate goods will make enterprises tend to accumulate familiar knowledge with a high degree of homogeneity. It has a continuous positive effect on enterprise innovation. Second, the knowledge benefit effect brought by the diversification of the intermediate goods import will decrease with the knowledge dispersed, while the cost of knowledge absorption will increase with the difficulty of knowledge integration. There is an inverted U-shaped relationship between the diversification of the intermediate goods import and the enterprise innovation. Third, the knowledge benefit effect brought by the advanced import of intermediate goods will increase with the improvement of the technology embedded in intermediate goods, while the cost effect of knowledge absorption will decrease with the accumulation of experience of imported high-tech intermediate goods. Therefore, import sophistication has a positive U-shaped relationship with the enterprise innovation. Fourth, the products' import correlation has positive moderating effects on products' nonlinear relationship between the import diversification, import sophistication and the enterprise innovation.
The marginal contribution of this paper is reflected in the following three aspects.Firstly, it provides a new explanation for the import's“innovation paradox” that intermediate goods import is difficult to promote the innovation of Chinese enterprises. Different forms of the intermediate goods import have different benefit effects on knowledge acquisition and cost effects on knowledge absorption. The import of intermediate goods without product correlation will significantly weaken its innovation effect. Secondly, the research scope of the product space theory is expanded from the export trade evolution to the import trade evolution. Based on the idea of the product space theory, this paper introduces product correlation into the research of the intermediate goods import. It also reveals the different characteristics of the knowledge spillover effect of the multi-dimensional evolution of the intermediate goods import from the perspective of product correlation and non-correlation. Thirdly, the single evolution dimension of the intermediate goods import is expanded to the multi-dimensional evolution. This paper focuses on the evolution form of China's intermediate goods import and integrates the diversity of the intermediate goods import, the product relevance and the embedded technology into a unified analysis framework.
The policy implications from the conclusion of this paper are as follows: First, enterprises should implement import based on self-generated knowledge base and acquire key core technologies which can affect the whole industrial chain. Second, enterprises should avoid pursuing intermediates imports diversification blindly, and promote diversification of import goods within the scope of business. Third, the government should accelerate the adjustment of the catalogue of encouraged imports of technologies and products, encourage enterprises to increase the import of advanced technology and equipment, key parts and components, and improve the import structure of intermediate goods. Fourth, we should pay attention to improving the regional basic knowledge reserve, strengthening the basic research and development, accelerating the construction of regional scientific research cooperation platform and patent reserve pool.

Key words: Intermediate Goods Import, Import Correlation, Import Diversification, Import Sophistication, Chinese Enterprise Innovation

摘要： 本文基于2000—2011年中国工业企业数据库、中国海关贸易数据库和中国专利数据库,分析中间品进口的关联化、多样化和高度化对企业创新的影响。研究结果发现,企业进口中间品呈现产品种类扩大、关联度加深及内嵌技术升级的特征,中间品进口关联化对企业创新具有显著的正向作用,中间品进口多样化对企业创新的作用呈倒U型变化,中间品进口高度化对企业创新的作用呈正U型变化,中间品进口关联化正向调节中间品进口多样化、高度化与企业创新之间的非线性关系;对处于东部沿海省份及高生产率企业而言,中间品进口多样化、高度化对企业创新的正向影响得到强化。在实施扩大进口战略中,不仅要利用不同形式中间品进口对企业创新的促进作用,还需注重进口产品关联化的调节作用,最大限度地发挥中间品进口多样化、高度化的创新效应。

关键词: 中间品进口, 进口关联化, 进口多样化, 进口高度化, 企业创新