Abstract: In recent years, foreign language communication competence of citizens has been attached more importance along with the promotion of China's “Belt and Road Initiative” and the increasing aspiration in participating in global governance. As English is one of the universal languages, improving communication competence can help reduce the language barrier between countries and enhance the efficiency of foreign trade and economic cooperation. Under this background, the impact of this competence on the enterprise export deserves a comprehensive study for its practical significance in enhancing the export competitiveness of Chinese enterprises. In the research, the author introduces English communication competence into Melitz' Heterogeneous Firm and Trade Model and analyzes the influence on the enterprise export by selecting the data of Chinese enterprises exporting to 35 OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries from 2005 to 2006. The results show that the improvement of English communication competence has a significant positive impact on the enterprise export probability and intensity, of which the impact on the export intensity is realized by the margin expanding. Besides, the sub-sample studies on enterprise ownership, trade mode and exporting products show that the improvement of English communication competence can remarkably promote the export intensity of private-owned and foreign-funded enterprises; no obvious difference is found in that of general trade and processing trade; the impact is larger on exporting differentiated products and smaller on non-homogeneous products, while no significant effect on the quality product export. In the economic globalization, it is of great necessity for Chinese to improve foreign languages and to enhance the export efficiency of Chinese enterprises while enhancing bilateral trust, increasing cultural identity and reducing trade costs.

Key words: English communication competence of citizens, export probability, export intensity