Abstract: To boost high-level opening to the outside world and green development is China's strategic choice for its future high-quality economic development. Based on the customs micro-database from 2001 to 2014 and the provincial panel data, this paper measures the global value chain (GVC) embedment and the green economy efficiency index in China's 30 provinces; then, on this basis, it empirically explores the impact of GVC embedment on the green economy efficiency. The results show that GVC embedding can promote the improvement of green economy efficiency significantly, but this promoting effect gradually decreases with the passage of time, and that there exists obvious heterogeneity in geographical location and time stage. The results of the test of mediating effect and moderating effect show that GVC embedding can promote the efficiency of green economy by optimizing industrial structure, promoting green innovation and stimulating green consumption demand. Moreover, the absorptive capacity of human capital, R&D investment, financial development and Internet development level can also positively moderate the positive impact of GVC embedding on green economy efficiency. In addition, the“diffusion effect”of GVC embedding on the efficiency of green economy will decrease with the increase of geographical distance. Therefore, on the basis of continuously expanding the level of opening up, the governments of different regions should pay attention to the cultivation of high-quality talents and the efficiency of scientific research funds, improve the constructions of regional financial system and information infrastructures, and break down the inter-regional administrative barriers, so as to let GVC embedding play an effective role in promoting the efficiency of green economy.

Key words: global value chain embedding, green economy efficiency, dynamic effect, mediating and regulating effect