Seaport service efficiency, maritime shipping cost and trade growth of China

Recent economic booming of China is strongly relied on the rapid growth of foreign trade with the world. Historically, continuous artificial trade barriers´ recession greatly enhance the importance of shipping cost as a determinant of trade growth. Through the utilization of a standard reduced form approach, this paper develops an empirical analysis of the effect of seaport efficiency on the maritime shipping cost of the China, moreover, the main factors influencing seaport efficiency is demonstrated. Followed these results, a set of maritime shipping cost indexes is constructed to explain the bilateral trade performance of China.