China’s food and agricultural trade and environmental development - A systematic literature review

Extant literature reviews primarily concentrated on the effects of food and agricultural trade on economic growth, while its outcomes for environmental externalities have also received increasing attentions. Hence, this study compiles a systematic literature review of the research examining the effect of international food and agricultural trade on environmental development, focusing on China. The results indicate that some studies have concentrated on the use/overexploitation of natural resources, notably on virtual land and virtual water, in Chinese international food and agricultural trade. Others have focused on climate-related problems, such as carbon emissions and nitrogen flow embodied in trade. These findings reveal hotspots of environmental concerns in China’s international food and agricultural trade. China’s food and agricultural trade affects its domestic and partner environments through natural resource (e.g., virtual water and virtual land) transfer, changes in agricultural production structure (e.g., cropping land use change), and the exchange of environmental pollutants. The insights provide important policy recommendations, such as diversifying import sources in food and agricultural trade to reduce environmental risks and future priorities in food and feed crop trade and resource use.