THE EVOLUTION OF CHINA'S BILATERAL TRADE FLOWS OVER TIME 1979-2001

This study examines the evolution of bilateral relations between China, New Zealand and her selected major trading partners such as, Japan, United States, Hong Kong, South Korea and Germany. The present study adapts a variety of approaches to investigate these developments. First, it examines the strength of relations between China-selected trading partners, using intensity of index and a trade reciprocity index. Second it identifies sectors in which China has comparative and presents an analysis of revealed comparative advantage (RCA), using Balassa (1965) methodology. Third, it examines intra-industry between China-Japan, using Grubel-Lloyd and Aquino indices. Finally, gravity model is used to identify the key determinants of China's trade. These analyses are examined to consider how relation has changes in this period of economic reforms and future prospects for fostering and socio-economic and cultural cooperation in the context of recent negotiation for a Free agreement between China-New Zealnd and selected countries. Presented at the 15th International Conference,Istanbul, Turkey, May 2005.