The enhancement of export technological complexity in manufacturing enterprises is a crucial measure to facilitate the transformation and upgrade of manufacturing firms towards high-quality development. This paper delves into the mechanism through which trade facilitation impacts the export technological complexity of manufacturing enterprises. Empirical tests are conducted using matched data from China’s industrial enterprise database, customs database, and enterprise patent database spanning from 2004 to 2013. The key findings are as follows: 1) Although both trade facilitation and export technological complexity of manufacturing enterprises are on the rise, the gap in trade facilitation among enterprises is continuously narrowing, while the gap in export technological complexity is expanding. 2) Trade facilitation, along with its various indicators, positively influences the enhancement of export technological complexity in manufacturing enterprises, with the impact influenced by enterprise heterogeneity and geographical location. 3) Trade facilitation primarily improves the export technological complexity of manufacturing enterprises through effects such as cost reduction, technological innovation, competition, and enhanced productivity. 4) Resource reallocation emerges as a significant mechanism through which trade facilitation fosters the enhancement of export technological complexity in manufacturing enterprises, facilitating the transfer of resources from enterprises with low technological complexity to those with high technological complexity.
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