Study On China’s Tea Import Trade From African Countries

In November 2021,General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech at the eighth ministerial meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation,in which he proposed "four propositions" and "nine projects".Among these,the trade promotion project included the establishment of a "green channel" to facilitate the export of African agricultural products to China,and an aim to import a total of $300 billion USD from Africa in the next three years.China has become the second largest importer of agricultural products from Africa,with tea being one of the important agricultural products exported by Africa.The development of China-Africa tea trade can expand the tea export market of African countries,increase their sources of income,meet China’s import demand and promote China’s economic development.While there are many factors that affect China’s tea import trade from African countries,the impact of the economic system,a non-traditional factor,is increasingly significant.This paper focuses on African countries and examines the influence of the economic system on China’s tea import trade using four indicators of commercial freedom,trade freedom,financial freedom and currency freedom.The paper constructs an extended gravity model and uses panel data from 2001 to 2021 to empirically analyze the influencing factors of China’s tea import trade from African countries.The Poisson pseudo-maximum likelihood estimation method is used to obtain robust regression results.The study finds that the degree of commercial freedom and currency freedom of African countries,China’s per capita GDP and openness to import trade,most-favored-nation tariffs on tea imports,and the fact that the two countries share a common language have a significant positive impact on China’s tea import trade from African countries.Geographical distance between the two countries and the fact that African countries are landlocked have a significant inhibitory effect on China’s tea import trade from African countries.Trade freedom and financial freedom of African countries have no significant impact on China’s tea import trade.The impact of the country’s per capita GDP on China’s tea imports is inconclusive.The regression results for imported black tea and the total amount of imported tea are similar,with most variables showing expected signs.However,the regression results for imported green tea show that half of the variables are not significant,and the signs of most variables are opposite to the results of the total amount of imported tea.Based on the research conclusions,the paper proposes several countermeasures and suggestions,including strengthening intergovernmental communication,promoting African tea culture,establishing diversified import channels,promoting trade facilitation,and developing finance and e-commerce to boost China-Africa tea trade.These measures could facilitate China-Africa tea trade cooperation,enhance the popularity of African tea,and promote the development of the China-Africa tea industry trade.