Economic globalization and its characteristics of the times

Globalization, which scholar first used this concept, and what it means, cannot be verified at present. At present, the more consistent view was first put forward by Theodre Levitt in the article "Market Globalization" in 1985 [1]. It refers to the rapid development of high technology, especially information technology and its industry, which greatly reduces the cost of transportation and communication, thus directly promoting the optimal allocation of international trade, investment, finance, talents and other economic factors on a global scale, making the whole economy more closely linked than ever before and gradually moving towards integration. However, as soon as globalization entered the academic hall, it showed a vigorous development momentum. Since 1990s, it has frequently appeared in the research fields of economics, politics, sociology, culturology and anthropology. Academic circles discuss a concept or problem from many angles, which is helpful to deepen people's understanding and grasp it. But don't complicate the original simple problem and expand the original conventional concept connotation. It seems far-fetched and difficult to grasp that all distant dreams, such as global political integration, global cultural integration and global problems, have been going on since ancient times, or are out of reach at present, and they are all included in globalization. I think "globalization" mainly refers to "economic globalization" from the original intention and its core content, that is, the large-scale flow, optimal allocation and reorganization of production factors around the world, which is the process and phenomenon of economic integration of all countries and regions in the world into a unified and interdependent economic system. Just as Austler, the former chief economist of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), first put forward the concept of "economic globalization" in 1990, economic globalization refers to "the factors of production flow around the world at a faster speed, thus realizing the optimal allocation of resources around the world".

Economic globalization appears with the increasing socialization of production and the continuous expansion of market economy in all countries of the world. Marx and Engels pointed out in the Manifesto of the Productive Party: "Big industry has established a world market prepared by the discovery of America. The world market has greatly developed the needs of commerce, navigation and land transportation, and has driven the bourgeoisie to run around the world. It must settle everywhere, start businesses everywhere, and establish contacts everywhere. " He also said: "By opening the world market, the bourgeoisie has made it possible for all countries in the world to produce and consume" [2]. In today's world, economic globalization continues to develop and presents obvious characteristics of the times.

1. Globalization of production and management

American scholar D·F· Simon believes that economic globalization is industrial globalization. Therefore, the main feature of economic globalization is the globalization of production and management. Multinational companies that organize production and circulation activities on a global scale are important driving forces and main forces of economic globalization. Economic globalization is manifested in the rapid expansion of multinational corporations. Since 1994, the wave of corporate mergers and acquisitions has been expanding all over the world, and the news of Boeing-McDonnell Douglas, Mercedes-Benz-Chrysler and Exxon Mobil that once shocked the world was quickly overwhelmed by a series of dazzling mergers and acquisitions. 1999 In early 1999, Vodafone Company of the United States annexed Air Communications Company of the United States for $56 billion. Nine months later, this new company was acquired by Atlantic Bell Electronics Company of the United States. American Household Products Company and Walter Lambert Company announced a merger plan with a total value of $70.9 billion, becoming the largest pharmaceutical company in the world. Alcan Canada, Pessina France and Alcan Switzerland merged into the largest aluminum production company in the world, with annual sales of 21600 million USD. World Microwave Communications, the second largest long-distance telephone company in the United States, announced the acquisition of Sprint, the third largest telephone company in the United States, for nearly $654.38+30 billion. At the end of the year, British Vodafone Air Communications Company acquired German mannesmann Company for US$ 654.38+048 billion. The merger amount of enterprises increased from 1. 14 trillion US dollars in 1996 to 2.5 trillion US dollars in 1998 and reached 3.4 trillion US dollars in 1999. Cross-border mergers and acquisitions of enterprises have greatly optimized the allocation of resources and industrial structure, and realized the scale effect; Make the position and role of multinational companies in the world economy further grow. According to the statistics of UNCTAD, 1998, there were 60,000 parent companies of multinational corporations and 600,000 subsidiaries and affiliated enterprises abroad. (1980, there were only 15000 multinational companies and 35000 overseas institutions. [3] a huge global production and sales system has been formed, and these multinational companies control 65438 companies around the world. They have mastered 70% and 2/3 of the world's foreign direct investment, 80% of patents and other technology transfer, and organized production and sales on a global scale, making the international division of labor and professional cooperation more and more advanced and forming a unified international production system. A final product, its parts manufacturing and its different production stages can be carried out in different regions and countries at the same time, giving full play to their different comparative advantages in technology, labor and raw materials, and realizing the optimal allocation of resources on a global scale. The globalization of production and operation is also manifested in the globalization of industrial division of labor, from a country's division of labor based on traditional production factors to a wide division of labor based on modern technology; From the division of labor between industrial departments to the division of labor within industrial departments; From the division of labor of a single product to the division of labor of product model, product parts and product technology, and forming a worldwide industrial division network, every production link has become a part of the world production system and a part of the commodity price chain.

In the globalization of production and operation, a particularly noteworthy phenomenon is that in the past 20 years, international direct industrial investment has maintained a substantial growth and has always occupied an important position in international capital flows. From 1983 to 1995, the average annual growth rate is 17.2%, which is about twice the average annual growth rate of international trade. 197, the total foreign direct investment reached US$ 460 billion, which was 0/0 times that of 1970. By 2000, the total international industrial direct investment was 1 1000 billion US dollars, an increase of 14% over the previous year, of which more than 80% flowed into developed countries [4]. At the same time, international securities investment has developed rapidly, and the current amount is18.5 billion US dollars in 1993, 1994 952.4 billion US dollars,1258.4 billion US dollars [4]. The combination of global production and sales promoted by the rapid growth of international investment is an important feature and new trend of economic globalization. Transnational corporations are playing an increasingly important role in the process of economic globalization and have always been the leading force of international direct investment. According to some data, the world's largest 1% multinational company owns 50% of the global foreign direct investment, and the world's largest 100 multinational companies control about 1/3 of the global foreign direct investment [5].

2. Trade globalization

Another important manifestation of economic globalization is trade globalization. International trade is an ancient phenomenon in the world economy, which has greatly promoted the development of economic globalization. In recent years, the average annual growth rate of international trade is more than twice the world gross domestic product. During 1990- 1995, the average annual growth rate of world trade was 6%, while the average annual growth rate of world GDP was 1%. 1998, the world's total merchandise exports were 54148 billion US dollars, which was 0/00 times higher than 1950 at current prices. In addition, the negligible service trade in 1950 has increased to1326.3 billion USD in 1998. 1998, the trade in goods and services accounted for 23.4% of the total GDP of $28,862.2 billion in that year, which means that the average annual GDP of all countries in the world is close to 1/4, which cannot be achieved without international trade [6]. The interdependence of national economies has never been so close as it is today. At the same time, the varieties of goods in international trade are increasingly diversified. Commodities that account for more than 1% of world trade exports have increased from 1 1 in the past to more than 20 kinds now. Among the commodities exported by developing countries, the number of commodities accounting for more than 1% of exports has increased from 6 in the past to 20 now. With the development of international economy, the pattern and mode of world trade have also changed. Electronic commerce (EC), electronic trade matching (ETM) and electronic fund transfer (ETF) are widely used in international trade. The Uruguay Round Agreement of GATT has liberalized trade. 1995 The World Trade Organization (WTO), officially launched, imposes strict legal constraints on its member States with legal person status. It marks the basic formation of the global trading system. It can be predicted that with the continuous advancement of global trade liberalization, factors of production such as capital, technology and personnel will flow more freely and on a larger scale around the world.