The Promotion Effect of the Belt and Road Initiative on China's Tea Export Trade

Since the Belt and Road Initiative was put forward, countries that have signed cooperation agreements with China have become important partners of China's export trade. As a significant commodity in China's foreign trade, tea has ushered in a new development opportunity. This paper selects the data from the UN Comtrade database on China's tea export trade to 20 countries from 2008 to 2020 and uses the difference-in-differences model to study the promotion effect of the Belt and Road Initiative on China's tea export trade. The results show that the Belt and Road Initiative has significantly promoted China's tea export trade to Belt and Road member countries. Therefore, we should seize the opportunities brought by the Belt and Road Initiative for tea trade, promote cross-border e-commerce to develop tea trade, strengthen the quality control of tea export, and further promote international trade cooperation and development.