Analysis On Sino-SADC Trade And Its Influencing Factor

China has surpassed US and EU as the largest trading partner of theregion in2011and the Sino-SADC trade occupies an important position inthe Sino-Africa trade. China and SADC countries make full use of theirrespective resource endowments. China imports energy, minerals and otherprimary products from SADC countries to satisfy the its great need of rawmaterials and exports electromechanical products, consumer goods andother manufactured goods, providing products of quality and low price forthe SADC countries. With the development of Chinese economy, it is thetrend that Chinese enterprises go overseas, which offers an opportunityto cooperate with the SADC countries. China’s FDI in SADC countries willcontinue to grow with constant improvement of the investment environmentand construction of SADC FTA.This article firstly analyzed on Sino-SADC trade in total volume, theregional distribution and product mix and obtained a typical feature ofthe Sino-SADC trade: the rapid development, concentrated in a fewcountries, the mutual trade products in line with comparative advantageand resource endowments. Given the close ties between foreign directinvestment and trade, China’s direct investment in SADC countries werealso analyzed. Then panel data was used to do the empirical analysis onfactors affecting Sino-SADC trade. Total imports and exports, China’simports from SADC and the China’s exports to SADC during2003and2010were selected as dependent variables and China’s OFDI (Outward ForeignDirect Investment) in SADC, population and GDP of SADC countries wereselected as independent variables. Among the influencing factors ofSino-SADC trade, demographic factors have a significant positive impacton both the import and export trade between China and SADC countries whileChina’s OFDI in SADC countries had a lesser positive impact which was not significant. The total economy volume of these countries had acatalytic role in promoting China’s exports but no significant effect wasobserved in promoting China’s imports from the SADC. On this basis, theproposal for the promotion of the Sino-SADC trade was put up: strengthencooperation in both multilateral and bilateral levels; formulate morespecific policies supporting Sino-SADC trade; open up the source of tradeinformation about the SADC countries; encourage domestic enterprises toinvest in SADC countries.