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The role of trade and foreign investment in China's blue economy: An ecological perspective on the fishing grounds footprint

Year 2025, Volume: 42 Issue: 4, 287 - 297

Sefa Özbek , Muhammed Turgut

Abstract

China's rise in the maritime sector is notable on a global scale. China, which attaches great importance to developments in the blue economy as a national goal, is a world leader in aquaculture production. Developments in the blue economy are crucial for economic growth and the sustainability of international trade. Determining China's fishing grounds footprint, a subcomponent of its ecological footprint, is of critical importance for China, which has a significant trade volume in aquaculture production. In this context, the determinants of the fishing area footprint are being investigated in the Chinese economy. The relationship between the fishing grounds footprint and fishing production, trade globalization, foreign direct investment, and economic growth is investigated for the period 1980-2022. The A-ARDL method is chosen as the empirical method in the study, and cointegration estimators with various power characteristics are utilized. In this context, the FMOLS and CCr estimators are used. The DOLS estimator is used for robustness testing. According to the empirical results, the FMOLS, CCR, and DOLS (robustness) estimation results are consistent with each other. The results indicate that while increases in fishery production and trade globalization have contributed to a rise in the fishing footprint, economic growth appears to have had a mitigating effect, potentially due to increased efficiency, technological advancements, or sectoral shifts in the Chinese economy. These results offer important insights into development models that support sustainable development goals in China's marine sector.

Keywords

Fishing grounds footprint fisheries production ecological sustainability economic growth China

Ethical Statement

Ethical approval is not required for this study.

References

  • Ahammed, S., Rana, M.M., Uddin, H., Majumder, S.C., & Shaha, S. (2024). Impact of blue economy factors on the sustainable economic growth of China. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 27, 12625-12652. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-023-04411-6
  • Becker, R., Enders, W., & Lee, J. (2006). A stationarity test in the presence of an unknown number of smooth breaks. Journal of Time Series Analysis, 27(3), 381-409. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9892.2006.00478.x
  • Bennett, N.J., Villasante, S., Espinosa-Romero, M.J., Lopes, P.F.M., Selim, S.A., & Allison, E.H. (2022). Social sustainability and equity in the blue economy. One Earth 5(9), 964 968. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2022.08.004
  • Çoban, M.N., & Ölmez, Ü. (2017). Mavi ekonomi ve mavi büyüme. Electronic Turkish Studies, 12(3). https://doi.org/10.7827/TurkishStudies.11122
  • Dickey, D.A., & Fuller, W.A. (1981). Likelihood ratio statistics for autoregressive time series with a unit root. Econometrica: Journal of The Econometric Society, 1057-1072. https://doi.org/10.2307/1912517
  • Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). (2024). FAO report: Global fisheries and aquaculture production reaches a new record high. Retrieved from https://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/fao-report-global-fisheries-and-quaculture-production-reaches-a-new-record-high/en (Accessed June 2024)
  • Geng, B., Wu, D., Zhang, C., Xie, W., Mahmood, M. A., & Ali, Q. (2024). How can the blue economy contribute to inclusive growth and ecosystem resources in Asia? A comparative analysis. Sustainability, 16(1), 429. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16010429
  • Global Footprint Network (2025). Retrieved from https://www.footprintnetwork.org/ (Accessed June 2024)
  • Görgel, B., Topaloğlu, E.E., & Şahin, S. (2025). Finansal gelişme ile yeşil yatirimin ekonomik büyüme üzerindeki etkisi. Ömer Halisdemir Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, 18(3), 956-979. https://doi.org/10.25287/ohuiibf.1660753
  • Gregory, A.W., & Hansen, B.E. (1996). Residual-based tests for cointegration in models with regime shifts. Journal of Econometrics, 70(1), 99-126. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-4076(69)41685-7
  • Güler, İ., Naimoğlu, M., Şimşek, O., Adalı, Z., & Özbek, S. (2025). Analyzing the impact of economic growth and FDI on sustainable development goals in China: insights from ecological footprints and load capacity factors. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 13, 1513158. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2025.1513158
  • Han, S., Kamaruddin, B.H.B., & Shi, X. (2025). The intertwined threads of blue economy, inclusive growth, and environmental sustainability in transition economies. Sustainability (2071 1050), 17(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/su17031054
  • Hansen, B.E., & Phillips, P.C.B. (1990). Estimation and inference in models of cointegration: A simulation study. Advances in Econometrics, 8, 225-248. https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/cowles-discussion-paper-series/1125/ (Accessed June 2024)
  • Im, K.S., & Schmidt, P. (2008). More efficient estimation under non-normality when higher moments do not depend on the regressors, using residual augmented least squares. Journal of Econometrics, 144(1), 219-233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeconom.2008.01.003
  • KOF Swiss Economic Institute (2025). Retrieved from https://kof.ethz.ch/ (Accessed June 2024)
  • Kwiatkowski, D., Phillips, P.C., Schmidt, P., & Shin, Y. (1992). Testing the null hypothesis of stationarity against the alternative of a unit root: How sure are we that economic time series have a unit root?. Journal of Econometrics, 54(1-3), 159-178. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-4076(92)90104-Y
  • Li, X., Xiao, L., Tian, C., Zhu, B., & Chevallier, J. (2022). Impacts of the ecological footprint on sustainable development: Evidence from China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 352, 131472. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.131472
  • McNown, R., Sam, C.Y., & Goh, S.K. (2018). Bootstrapping the autoregressive distributed lag test for cointegration. Applied Economics, 50(13), 1509-1521. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2017.1366643
  • Mishra, S., Sharif, A., Khuntia, S., Meo, M.S., & Khan, S.A.R. (2019). Does oil prices impede Islamic stock indices? Fresh insights from wavelet-based quantile-on-quantile approach. Resources Policy, 62, 292-304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2019.04.005
  • Mishra, S., Sinha, A., Sharif, A., & Suki, N.M. (2020). Dynamic linkages between tourism, transportation, growth and carbon emission in the USA: evidence from partial and multiple wavelet coherence. Current Issues in Tourism, 23(21), 2733 2755. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2019.1667965
  • Narayan, P.K. (2005). The saving and investment nexus for China: evidence from cointegration tests. Applied Economics, 37(17), 1979-1990. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036840500278103
  • Özbek, S. (2023). Yeşil büyümenin belirleyicileri: Çin örneği. Uluslararası İktisadi ve İdari İncelemeler Dergisi, 40, 17 32. https://doi.org/10.18092/ulikidince.1180617
  • Özbek, S., & Özbek, B. (2024). Does climate change strengthen the link between environmental degradation and agricultural output? Empirical evidence on the Turkish economy. Turkish Journal of Agricultural Economics, 30(1), 49-60. https://doi.org/10.24181/tarekoder.1472242
  • Park, J.Y. (1992), Canonical cointegrating regressions. Econometrica, 60(1), 119-143. https://doi.org/10.2307/2951679
  • Pata, U.K., & Caglar, A.E. (2021). Investigating the EKC hypothesis with renewable energy consumption, human capital, globalization and trade openness for China: evidence from augmented ARDL approach with a structural break. Energy, 216, 119220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2020.119220
  • Pesaran, M.H., Shin, Y., & Smith, R.J. (2001). Bounds testing approaches to the analysis of level relationships. Journal of Applied Econometrics, 16(3), 289-326. https://doi.org/10.1002/jae.616
  • Phillips, P.C., & Perron, P. (1988). Testing for a unit root in time series regression. Biometrika, 75(2), 335 346. https://doi.org/10.1093/biomet/75.2.335
  • Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Trade. (2025). Su ürünleri sektörü pazar araştırması raporu. Çin Halk Cumhuriyeti. Şanghay Ticaret Ataşeliği. Sektör Raporu.
  • Sam, Y.C., Mcnown, R., & Goh, S.K. (2019). An augmented autoregressive distributed lag bounds test for cointegration. Economic Modelling, 80, 130-141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.07.069
  • Shahbaz, M. (2024). Economic globalization-energy diversification nexus and implications for environmental management in China. Journal of Environmental Management, 360, 121174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.121174
  • Şimşek, O., Güler, İ., Özbek, S., Naimoğlu, M., & Adalı, Z. (2025). Assessing the convergence of cropland ecological balance: A panel data analysis of 13 major agricultural countries. Journal of Environmental & Earth Sciences, 7(7), 16-32. https://doi.org/10.30564/jees.v7i7.7676
  • Singh, D., Keshari, A., & Gautam, A. (2024). International trade and investment: A review and research agenda. Global Business and Organizational Excellence, 43(5), 81 112. https://doi.org/10.1002/joe.22254
  • Solarin, S.A., Gil-Alana, L.A., & Lafuente, C. (2021). Persistence and sustainability of fishing grounds footprint: Evidence from 89 countries. Science of the Total Environment, 751, 141594. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141594
  • Statista. (2025). Fish & Seafood China. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/outlook/cmo/food/fish-seafood/china (Accessed June 2024)
  • Stock, J.H., & Watson, M.W. (1993). A simple estimator of cointegrating vectors in higher order integrated systems. Econometrica: Journal of the Econometric Society, 61(4), 783 820. https://doi.org/10.2307/2951763
  • Sumaila, U.R., & Villasante, S. (2025). Surging blue economy, increasing conflict risks and mitigation strategies. Frontiers in Marine Science, 12, 1499386. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2025.1499386
  • Sunny, A.R., Mithun, M.H., Prodhan, S.H., Ashrafuzzaman, M., Rahman, S.M. A., Billah, M.M., ... & Hossain, M.M. (2021). Fisheries in the context of attaining Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Bangladesh: COVID-19 impacts and future prospects. Sustainability, 13(17), 9912. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13179912
  • Tayyar, A. (2023). Küresel ısınmanin kötü ikizi–mavi ekonomi ve endüstri-içi ticaret: TÜRKİYE için ARDL analizi. Pamukkale Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, (57), 21 36. https://doi.org/10.30794/pausbed.1228128
  • World Bank (2025). Retrieved from https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators (Accessed June 2024)
  • Yilanci, V., Cutcu, I., & Cayir, B. (2022). Is the environmental Kuznets curve related to the fishing footprint? Evidence from China. Fisheries Research, 254, 106392. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2022.106392

Çin'in mavi ekonomisinde ticaret ve yabancı yatırımın rolü: Balıkçılık Alanı ayak izine ekolojik bir bakış

Year 2025, Volume: 42 Issue: 4, 287 - 297

Sefa Özbek , Muhammed Turgut

Abstract

Çin'in denizcilik sektöründeki yükselişi küresel ölçekte dikkat çekicidir. Mavi ekonomideki gelişmelere ulusal hedef olarak büyük önem veren Çin, su ürünleri yetiştiriciliği üretiminde dünya lideridir. Mavi ekonomideki gelişmeler ekonomik büyüme ve uluslararası ticaretin sürdürülebilirliği için kritik öneme sahiptir. Su ürünleri yetiştiriciliği üretiminde önemli bir ticaret hacmine sahip olan Çin için, ekolojik ayak izinin bir alt bileşeni olan balıkçılık alanı ayak izini belirlemek kritik öneme sahiptir. Bu bağlamda, Çin ekonomisinde balıkçılık alanı ayak izinin belirleyicileri araştırılmaktadır. Balıkçılık alanı ayak izi ile balıkçılık üretimi, ticaret küreselleşmesi, doğrudan yabancı yatırım ve ekonomik büyüme arasındaki ilişki 1980-2022 dönemi için araştırılmıştır. Çalışmada ampirik yöntem olarak A-ARDL yöntemi seçilmiş ve çeşitli kuvvet özelliklerine sahip eşbütünleşme tahmin edicileri kullanılmıştır. Bu bağlamda, FMOLS ve CCr tahmin edicileri kullanılmıştır. Sağlamlık testleri için DOLS tahmin edicisi kullanılmıştır. Ampirik sonuçlara göre, FMOLS, CCR ve DOLS (sağlamlık) tahmin sonuçları birbiriyle tutarlıdır. Sonuçlar, balıkçılık üretimi ve ticaretin küreselleşmesindeki artışların balıkçılık ayak izi üzerinde artırıcı bir etkisi olduğunu, ancak ekonomik büyümenin bu izi azaltıcı yönde etkide bulunduğunu göstermektedir. Bu azaltıcı etkinin, artan verimlilik, teknolojik gelişmeler veya Çin ekonomisindeki sektörel dönüşümlerden kaynaklanabileceği düşünülmektedir. Bu bulgular, Çin’in denizcilik sektöründe sürdürülebilir kalkınma hedeflerini destekleyen kalkınma modellerine yönelik önemli çıkarımlar sunmaktadır.

Keywords

Balıkçılık alanı ayak izi balıkçılık üretimi ekolojik sürdürülebilirlik ekonomik büyüme Çin

References

  • Ahammed, S., Rana, M.M., Uddin, H., Majumder, S.C., & Shaha, S. (2024). Impact of blue economy factors on the sustainable economic growth of China. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 27, 12625-12652. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-023-04411-6
  • Becker, R., Enders, W., & Lee, J. (2006). A stationarity test in the presence of an unknown number of smooth breaks. Journal of Time Series Analysis, 27(3), 381-409. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9892.2006.00478.x
  • Bennett, N.J., Villasante, S., Espinosa-Romero, M.J., Lopes, P.F.M., Selim, S.A., & Allison, E.H. (2022). Social sustainability and equity in the blue economy. One Earth 5(9), 964 968. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2022.08.004
  • Çoban, M.N., & Ölmez, Ü. (2017). Mavi ekonomi ve mavi büyüme. Electronic Turkish Studies, 12(3). https://doi.org/10.7827/TurkishStudies.11122
  • Dickey, D.A., & Fuller, W.A. (1981). Likelihood ratio statistics for autoregressive time series with a unit root. Econometrica: Journal of The Econometric Society, 1057-1072. https://doi.org/10.2307/1912517
  • Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). (2024). FAO report: Global fisheries and aquaculture production reaches a new record high. Retrieved from https://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/fao-report-global-fisheries-and-quaculture-production-reaches-a-new-record-high/en (Accessed June 2024)
  • Geng, B., Wu, D., Zhang, C., Xie, W., Mahmood, M. A., & Ali, Q. (2024). How can the blue economy contribute to inclusive growth and ecosystem resources in Asia? A comparative analysis. Sustainability, 16(1), 429. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16010429
  • Global Footprint Network (2025). Retrieved from https://www.footprintnetwork.org/ (Accessed June 2024)
  • Görgel, B., Topaloğlu, E.E., & Şahin, S. (2025). Finansal gelişme ile yeşil yatirimin ekonomik büyüme üzerindeki etkisi. Ömer Halisdemir Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, 18(3), 956-979. https://doi.org/10.25287/ohuiibf.1660753
  • Gregory, A.W., & Hansen, B.E. (1996). Residual-based tests for cointegration in models with regime shifts. Journal of Econometrics, 70(1), 99-126. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-4076(69)41685-7
  • Güler, İ., Naimoğlu, M., Şimşek, O., Adalı, Z., & Özbek, S. (2025). Analyzing the impact of economic growth and FDI on sustainable development goals in China: insights from ecological footprints and load capacity factors. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 13, 1513158. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2025.1513158
  • Han, S., Kamaruddin, B.H.B., & Shi, X. (2025). The intertwined threads of blue economy, inclusive growth, and environmental sustainability in transition economies. Sustainability (2071 1050), 17(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/su17031054
  • Hansen, B.E., & Phillips, P.C.B. (1990). Estimation and inference in models of cointegration: A simulation study. Advances in Econometrics, 8, 225-248. https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/cowles-discussion-paper-series/1125/ (Accessed June 2024)
  • Im, K.S., & Schmidt, P. (2008). More efficient estimation under non-normality when higher moments do not depend on the regressors, using residual augmented least squares. Journal of Econometrics, 144(1), 219-233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeconom.2008.01.003
  • KOF Swiss Economic Institute (2025). Retrieved from https://kof.ethz.ch/ (Accessed June 2024)
  • Kwiatkowski, D., Phillips, P.C., Schmidt, P., & Shin, Y. (1992). Testing the null hypothesis of stationarity against the alternative of a unit root: How sure are we that economic time series have a unit root?. Journal of Econometrics, 54(1-3), 159-178. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-4076(92)90104-Y
  • Li, X., Xiao, L., Tian, C., Zhu, B., & Chevallier, J. (2022). Impacts of the ecological footprint on sustainable development: Evidence from China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 352, 131472. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.131472
  • McNown, R., Sam, C.Y., & Goh, S.K. (2018). Bootstrapping the autoregressive distributed lag test for cointegration. Applied Economics, 50(13), 1509-1521. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2017.1366643
  • Mishra, S., Sharif, A., Khuntia, S., Meo, M.S., & Khan, S.A.R. (2019). Does oil prices impede Islamic stock indices? Fresh insights from wavelet-based quantile-on-quantile approach. Resources Policy, 62, 292-304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2019.04.005
  • Mishra, S., Sinha, A., Sharif, A., & Suki, N.M. (2020). Dynamic linkages between tourism, transportation, growth and carbon emission in the USA: evidence from partial and multiple wavelet coherence. Current Issues in Tourism, 23(21), 2733 2755. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2019.1667965
  • Narayan, P.K. (2005). The saving and investment nexus for China: evidence from cointegration tests. Applied Economics, 37(17), 1979-1990. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036840500278103
  • Özbek, S. (2023). Yeşil büyümenin belirleyicileri: Çin örneği. Uluslararası İktisadi ve İdari İncelemeler Dergisi, 40, 17 32. https://doi.org/10.18092/ulikidince.1180617
  • Özbek, S., & Özbek, B. (2024). Does climate change strengthen the link between environmental degradation and agricultural output? Empirical evidence on the Turkish economy. Turkish Journal of Agricultural Economics, 30(1), 49-60. https://doi.org/10.24181/tarekoder.1472242
  • Park, J.Y. (1992), Canonical cointegrating regressions. Econometrica, 60(1), 119-143. https://doi.org/10.2307/2951679
  • Pata, U.K., & Caglar, A.E. (2021). Investigating the EKC hypothesis with renewable energy consumption, human capital, globalization and trade openness for China: evidence from augmented ARDL approach with a structural break. Energy, 216, 119220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2020.119220
  • Pesaran, M.H., Shin, Y., & Smith, R.J. (2001). Bounds testing approaches to the analysis of level relationships. Journal of Applied Econometrics, 16(3), 289-326. https://doi.org/10.1002/jae.616
  • Phillips, P.C., & Perron, P. (1988). Testing for a unit root in time series regression. Biometrika, 75(2), 335 346. https://doi.org/10.1093/biomet/75.2.335
  • Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Trade. (2025). Su ürünleri sektörü pazar araştırması raporu. Çin Halk Cumhuriyeti. Şanghay Ticaret Ataşeliği. Sektör Raporu.
  • Sam, Y.C., Mcnown, R., & Goh, S.K. (2019). An augmented autoregressive distributed lag bounds test for cointegration. Economic Modelling, 80, 130-141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.07.069
  • Shahbaz, M. (2024). Economic globalization-energy diversification nexus and implications for environmental management in China. Journal of Environmental Management, 360, 121174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.121174
  • Şimşek, O., Güler, İ., Özbek, S., Naimoğlu, M., & Adalı, Z. (2025). Assessing the convergence of cropland ecological balance: A panel data analysis of 13 major agricultural countries. Journal of Environmental & Earth Sciences, 7(7), 16-32. https://doi.org/10.30564/jees.v7i7.7676
  • Singh, D., Keshari, A., & Gautam, A. (2024). International trade and investment: A review and research agenda. Global Business and Organizational Excellence, 43(5), 81 112. https://doi.org/10.1002/joe.22254
  • Solarin, S.A., Gil-Alana, L.A., & Lafuente, C. (2021). Persistence and sustainability of fishing grounds footprint: Evidence from 89 countries. Science of the Total Environment, 751, 141594. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141594
  • Statista. (2025). Fish & Seafood China. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/outlook/cmo/food/fish-seafood/china (Accessed June 2024)
  • Stock, J.H., & Watson, M.W. (1993). A simple estimator of cointegrating vectors in higher order integrated systems. Econometrica: Journal of the Econometric Society, 61(4), 783 820. https://doi.org/10.2307/2951763
  • Sumaila, U.R., & Villasante, S. (2025). Surging blue economy, increasing conflict risks and mitigation strategies. Frontiers in Marine Science, 12, 1499386. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2025.1499386
  • Sunny, A.R., Mithun, M.H., Prodhan, S.H., Ashrafuzzaman, M., Rahman, S.M. A., Billah, M.M., ... & Hossain, M.M. (2021). Fisheries in the context of attaining Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Bangladesh: COVID-19 impacts and future prospects. Sustainability, 13(17), 9912. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13179912
  • Tayyar, A. (2023). Küresel ısınmanin kötü ikizi–mavi ekonomi ve endüstri-içi ticaret: TÜRKİYE için ARDL analizi. Pamukkale Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, (57), 21 36. https://doi.org/10.30794/pausbed.1228128
  • World Bank (2025). Retrieved from https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators (Accessed June 2024)
  • Yilanci, V., Cutcu, I., & Cayir, B. (2022). Is the environmental Kuznets curve related to the fishing footprint? Evidence from China. Fisheries Research, 254, 106392. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2022.106392
There are 40 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Ecology (Other), Environmental Management (Other), Fisheries Management
Journal Section Research Article
Authors

Sefa Özbek 0000-0002-1043-2056

Muhammed Turgut 0000-0002-0868-7041

Early Pub Date December 1, 2025
Publication Date December 3, 2025
Submission Date July 21, 2025
Acceptance Date August 26, 2025
Published in Issue Year 2025 Volume: 42 Issue: 4

Cite

APA Özbek, S., & Turgut, M. (2025). The role of trade and foreign investment in China’s blue economy: An ecological perspective on the fishing grounds footprint. Ege Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 42(4), 287-297.