Abstract

Purpose: In the era of global economic integration, China's doors of openness have widened, leading to increasingly frequent economic and trade exchanges between countries. Exchange rates, as a crucial economic lever for regulating foreign markets, play a vital role in the balanced development of a nation's international trade. Therefore, the relationship between exchange rate fluctuations and foreign trade has garnered widespread attention. Research design, data and methodology: This study utilizes import and export trade data between China and five ASEAN countries from 1998 to 2019. It employs regression analysis to examine the specific impact of the real effective exchange rate of the Renminbi on China's import and export trade with these ASEAN nations. Results: The empirical analysis yields the following conclusions: Firstly, the real effective exchange rate of the Renminbi exhibits a long-term stable relationship with China's import and export trade with the five ASEAN countries. Renminbi appreciation contributes to an increase in export trade volume but is detrimental to import trade. While this conclusion may deviate from classical trade theories, it aligns with the practical realities of China's foreign trade. Secondly, the coefficients before Gross Domestic Product (GDP) all display positive values, indicating that the growth of total economic demand has a stimulating effect on China's import and export trade.