Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/320431 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
University of Göttingen Working Paper in Economics No. 438
Publisher: 
University of Göttingen, Department of Economics, Göttingen
Abstract: 
Global powers increasingly use trade as a tool of geopolitical influence. But can trade also foster soft power? We provide novel evidence on this relationship by combining geo-referenced survey data from 22 African countries sourced from the Gallup World Poll with Chinese import data. Exploiting plausibly exogenous variation in manufacturing imports induced by the "China shock," we find that trade does not affect African citizens' attitudes towards China in the aggregate. However, the China shock is associated with higher perceived incomes and contributes to more favorable views of China in African countries with low technological intensity. Most notably, among citizens in democratic regimes, increased trade exposure is associated with more favorable perceptions of China, suggesting that political context mediates the effectiveness of trade-based soft power.
Subjects: 
Trade
soft power
China-Africa
China shock
Gallup World Poll
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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