Study of Virtual Land Measurement and Influencing Factors of Cotton Trade in China

Based on China’s current cotton industry development situation, cotton trade scale and cotton trading partner countries, the researchers measure and analyze the total import and export volume of cotton on the virtual land between 1980 and 2021, calculate the virtual land content of cotton imported and exported to China from these countries based on their respective cotton yield per area, analyze the reasons for the net import of virtual land in China’s cotton trade and use Multiple Linear Regression on Stata to discuss the factors that influence the net import of virtual land in China’s cotton trade. The research results find out that China is the net importer of virtual land in the cotton trade and the trade is highly geographically concentrated. Domestic supply meeting demand tends to be the cotton consumption trend, and the net import of cotton virtual land is affected by both external and internal factors. Finally, the researchers suggest that China should promote the diversity of cotton import in the context of securing cotton import, raise global cotton trade efficiency through establishing standardized cotton tariffs, accelerate multilateral free trade, build premium global cotton value chain, establish friendly international relations, actively implement the cotton “go global” strategy and stimulate domestic market liberalization.