Does the Confucius Institute only promote China's exports?

• 1、Chongqing University Economics and Business Administration, Chongqing 400030

Abstract：This paper studies whether the Confucius Institute has positively promoted the export trade of China and the foreign which Confucius Institutes established. Using the cross-country data of 68 countries from 2004 to 2016, the empirical results prove that the establishment of the Confucius Institute overseas is mutually beneficial to China and its trading partners. It not only promotes China's exports, but also facilitates the host country's exports to China, and the promotion is stronger. To some extent, the results respond to the unfavorable comments and suspicions of some overseas media on Confucius Institutes. Through the in-depth analysis of the influence of the Confucius Institute on China's export trade, the following conclusions can be drawn: First, in the heterogeneity of the host country of the Confucius Institute, the Confucius Institute plays a more prominent role in developed countries or countries with a small cultural distance from China. Second, The Confucius Institute's mechanism to promote China's exports is mainly to reduce the negative impact of cultural differences on exports through cultural exchanges, and to provide protection for Chinese exports as an informal system of the home country, complementing the formal system of the host country of the Confucius Institute.

Keywords： Applied Economics Trade Culture Distance Confucius Institute