The Influence of Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions on Countries’ Participation in International Trade (the Case of Pharmaceutical Industries of China and Russia)

Countries’ participation in international trade evolves due to multinational companies, which shape export and import flows. Predominantly, this process results from companies’ business activity being extended beyond one state. Nowadays, companies tend to resort more often to cross-border mergers and acquisitions. Meanwhile, the usage of this instrument might depend upon a few factors, which will conceivably affect the strength and the proportionality of the cross-border deals–international trade relationship. In this regard, this paper aims to determine the influence of cross-border mergers and acquisitions on countries’ participation in international trade, in particular, focusing on pharmaceutical industries of China and Russia. In the present study, this influence is identified through both quantitative and qualitative analyses (correlational analysis, estimation of trade in value added indicators, analyses of trade flows and of Chinese and Russian pharmaceutical industries), and specific recommendations on Russian pharmaceutical industry development are given.