China, Mining, and Forests: A Cross-National Test of Ecologically Unequal Exchange

Previous research suggests that China’s growing demand for minerals may adversely impact the natural environment in nations that export mining products to China. However, we are not aware of cross-national research that empirically tests if forest loss in low- and middle-income nations corresponds with their mineral exports being sent to China. Therefore, drawing on ecologically unequal exchange theory and previous research, we assess whether mining exports from low- and middle-income nations to China increase forest loss in the exporting nations. To test if the ecologically unequal exchange of mining exports to China is adversely impacting forests in the exporting nations, we use ordinary least squares (OLS) regression for a sample of 66 low- and middle-income nations. We find support for our main hypothesis that mining exports sent from low- and middle-income nations to China are related to increased forest loss in the exporting nations. Our findings refine and expand upon ecologically unequal exchange theory by demonstrating that China, a middle-income nation, nevertheless is capable of positioning itself favorably in trading opportunities with other low- and middle-income- nations. As China meets its needs for minerals from abroad that are central to its economic growth and industrialization, its low- and middle-income trading partners bear more of the burden of environmental harms from the extraction and export of such minerals.