Empirical Study On Trade Between Central Africa And China

Next in line with the setting up of diplomatic relations between African countries and China since 1956,Sino-Central Africa bilateral trade expanded quickly.However,Chinese presence in Central Africa takes into account the diversity of points of view,the multiple dimensions of the Sino-African relationship in general,and the Sino-Central Africa relationship in particular;on the real objectives of China.The statistics of the two parts,both China and Countries in Central Africa,all show that the volume of trade between both increases up to now at an exponential speed.Despite the incomplete statistics from the Central African States,it is to be noted that China is the most important trading partner of Central African countries.This thesis makes use of the Gravity Model to particularly analyze the main influencing factors of the bilateral trade between Cameroon and China,in order to put forth sufficient policy recommendations to sustain and promote international trade of Central African countries with China.On the basis of a set of Chinese import and export data with Central African countries from 2005 to 2014,a set of Cameroon?s import and export data with China from 1995 to 2014,this thesis makes use of Figures,tables and the gravity model theory to analyze the amount of bilateral trade.The result shows the importance of Chinese imports from Central Africa,which is gradually increasing and greater than the exports between the two parts.It shows the necessity,the evidence for both of them to trade.In addition,according to our case example,from a comparison of the Sino-Cameroonian trade dependence on imports and exports,Sino-Cameroonian trade imbalance was found that Cameroon?s dependence rate on China is high,involving the importance for Central Africa to trade with China,which is seen from the theory of comparative advantages analysis,as beneficial for both parties.In the empirical analysis,the application of the Gravity Model of bilateral trade between Cameroon and China find that:The factors that influence the total volume of trade in Cameroon are: the GDP of Cameroon,the absolute value of the difference in domestic product between the two countries,the degree of openness of the two countries to trade,and the RMB exchange rate in relation to dollars.Among the factors affecting Cameroon's exports to China,there are Cameroonian gross domestic product,the absolute value of the difference of GDP between the two countries,the degree of openness of the two countries to trade,and the RMB exchange rate against dollars.The factors influencing imports are,in different proportions,identical to those mentioned above,namely: the GDP of Cameroon,the absolute value of the difference in domestic product between the two countries,the degree of openness of the two countries to trade,and the RMB exchange rate in relation to dollars.The Cameroonian GDP influences on the total volume of imports and exports in Cameroon,imports of products from China to Cameroon,and Cameroon's exports to China,which is consistent with theoretical predictions.The GDP of China has no influence on the total volume of imports and exports in Cameroon,imports of products from China to Cameroon,and Cameroon's exports to China,which is not consistent with theoretical predictions.China?s GDP remains greater than Cameroon?s GDP.The distance between the two countries is absent from the final model of trade,imports,and exports.In our model,the distance disappears in the estimated equations because of its non-variability over time,making difficult the study of its influence on trade.Moreover,the non-simplicity of our model in taking into account many variables suggests the domination of the effect of certain variables on the distance.There are many other factors besides distance that influence the transportation cost.The high value of Cameroon's openness to bilateral trade between Cameroon and China reflects the high trade flow,not only between these two entities,but also between China and Central Africa.The population of Cameroon has a positive impact on trade;indeed,an increase in the Cameroonian population would lead to an increase both in the total volume of trade in Cameroon and in that of exports to China,and vice versa in the value of Imports from China.The volatility of the financial market represented here by the exchange rate of the RMB against the dollar affects trade between these two countries.Moreover,whether these countries are members of the WTO does not affect trade.The article concludes with some policy suggestion to promote the development of Sino-Central African trade.