The Study Of The Influence Of Cultural Distance On Bilateral Trade Between China And Countries Along The Belt And Road Route

With the development of the“Belt and Road” strategy,the bilateral trade relationship between China and countries along the B&R route is getting closer and closer.At the same time,the trend of the integration of culture and economy is becoming more and more prominent,and culture has gradually become an important factor affecting international trade.Therefore,It is of great practical significance to study the influence of cultural distance on bilateral trade between China and countries along the B&R route under the background of "Belt and Road",which can provide valuable decision reference for the implementation of the "Belt and Road" strategy and promote the transformation of China from "Big Trade Nation" to "Powerful Trade Nation".This paper analyzes the current situation of trade between China and countries along the "Belt and Road" route,and finds that the total trade volume between China and countries along the B&R route is on the rise,indicating that the trade links between China and countries along the B&R route are getting closer and closer.In addition,from a subregional point of view,China has the closest trade ties with the 11 countries in Southeast Asia,followed by 19 countries in Western Asia and the Middle East,and countries of other four regions have small amount trade with China.It can be seen that there are regional imbalances in trade.In addition,this paper analyzes the influence mechanism of cultural distance on international trade from several angles,and finds that cultural distance has both negative and positive effects on trade flows.The hypothesis of positive or inverted U-type relationship between cultural distance and bilateral trade flow is put forward by synthetically analyzing the two effects.On the basis of this theory,the cultural distance is measured by the KSI method based on the Hofstede cultural dimension index and the World Value Survey method,and then uses the trade data between China and 30 countries along the B&R route from 1995 to2016 to perform an empirical test of the impact of cultural distance on bilateral trade between China and countries along the B&R route based on the extended gravity model.The results show that: during the sample period,The relationship betweencultural distance and bilateral trade flow is nonlinear.Under the KSI method,the relationship between cultural distance and bilateral trade flow shows an inverted U-type.Under the World Values Survey method,the relationship is positive U-type.But according to the distribution of sample values,most of the values of cultural distance falls within the interval of the subtraction function.Therefore,Narrowing cultural distance can help promote trade development between China and countries along the B&R route.The results of this paper show that China should attach importance to the role of cultural factor in international trade,strengthen cultural interaction with countries along the B&R route to promote value identity and carry forward the spirit of the Silk Road to promote win-win cooperation in the process of implementating the "Belt and Road" strategy.Besides,China should vigorously developing national cultural industries.In these way,cultural distance between countries are narrowed and barriers to trade caused by cultural distances are removed,thus promoting the further development of trade relations between China and countries along the B&R route and the early realization of the "Belt and Road" strategy grand blueprint.