Analysis Of The Ecological Effects Of China’s Food Import

Against the backdrop of intensifying resource and environmental constraints and increasing rigid demand for food,it is inevitable for China to import food from the international market.However,China’s expanding food imports have attracted widespread attention from the international community to the ecological environment of trading partner countries.In recent years,China’s food imports have grown rapidly,gradually shifting from production exceeding demand to insufficient demand.In 2001,China imported $3.607 billion in food,and in 2022,the import volume reached$84.474 billion,an average annual growth of 16.20%,including $61.236 billion in soybeans and over $7 billion in corn,indicating that China’s food security is increasingly reliant on international trade channels.China’s food imports are constantly increasing,and its dependence on foreign food is increasing.Ensuring China’s food security must rely on "two markets and two resources".While continuously improving agricultural technology and increasing production domestically,it is also necessary to tap into the food supply capacity of foreign markets.However,there are constant doubts about China’s large import of food internationally,believing that China’s food imports have polluted the ecological environment of its trading partners,tarnished and defamed China,and intended to undermine China’s image as a friendly and responsible major country.Therefore,it is extremely urgent to study the environmental impact of China’s food imports and trading partner countries.On the one hand,it provides scientific basis for the answer to this question;On the other hand,it provides policy reference for the country on how to use the "two markets,two resources" to ensure food trade security in the next step.This study is divided into six chapters.The first chapter mainly elaborates on the research background,research content,and technical roadmap.Chapter 2 is a literature review,summarizing and commenting on the research results of domestic and foreign scholars on the impact of trade on the environment and the Environmental Kuznets Curve(EKC).The third chapter focuses on analyzing the reasons for the impact of food trade on carbon emissions and the mechanism of EKC formation.Food trade has an impact on carbon emissions of trading partner countries through various means such as affecting agricultural production and transportation activities.At the same time,this chapter interprets the formation of the EKC curve between food trade and the environment from the perspectives of the pollution paradise hypothesis and environmental effects theory.Chapter 4 analyzes the trend of China’s food imports and the current carbon emissions of trading partner countries.It is found that China’s food,especially soybeans,has increased external dependence,and the sources of food imports are too concentrated.The agricultural carbon emissions of trading partner countries have shown a downward trend in recent years,and emission reduction has achieved certain results.Chapter 5 is based on panel data from 15 food trading partner countries from 2001 to 2021,and uses the Feasible Generalized Least Squares(FGLS)method to examine the relationship between China’s food imports and carbon emissions of trading partner countries.The empirical results show that:(1)China’s food imports and carbon emissions support environment Kuznets curve(EKC)of trading partner countries,with an inverted U-shaped curve shape,that is,as the openness of food trade increases,Trading partner countries not only increase foreign exchange income,but also ultimately improve the ecological environment.(2)The impact of food trade openness on carbon emissions of trading partner countries is characterized by country heterogeneity and product heterogeneity.The EKC curve of high and middle-income countries shows an inverted U-shaped curve,while that of low and middle-income countries shows a U-shaped curve.The EKC curve of China’s corn import source countries shows a U-shaped curve,while that of soybean import source countries shows an inverted U-shaped curve.(3)Food trade has an impact on carbon emissions through production scale,industrial structure,and technological progress,among which production scale is the main path for the formation of the inverted U-shaped curve.Chapter 6 proposes corresponding policy recommendations based on the research results.China’s food imports not only provide development opportunities for trading partner countries,but also increase their foreign exchange earnings,which is beneficial for improving the ecological environment.Therefore,we need to enhance China’s influence in international discourse and make the world hear China’s voice.