Abstract: By making use of the panel data of trade of cultural goods between China and its top 35 trading partners during the period of 2002-2011 and applying the static and dynamic panel gravity models, this paper conducts an empirical study of the decesive factors in China’s cultural products trade on the two levels of the generality and the classfication, especially focusing on the impact brought forward by consumptive network externalities and cultural proximity. The results suggest that the consumptive network externalities of cultural products will promote China’s trade of cultural products through consumer preference spillover and knowledge and culture spillover; while the influence of cultural proximity on the import and export of cultural products varies according to different categories of cultural products. Therefore, an effective way to promote Chinese culture going out is to encourage the innovation and export of the native cultural enterprises through R&D subsidies, to give classfied policy guidence to the export of different cultural products, to actively absorb and imitate excellent foreign cultural achievements, and to promote development with opening-up policy.

Key words: cultural products trade; consumptive network externalities; cultural proximity; dynamic panel gravity model