The impact of import and export trade on energy intensity in China

Scholars studied on the decline of China's energy intensity extensively and deep, but one influence factor, namely, import and export trade, was neglected, some works were done to analyze the relation between trade and energy intensity in this paper. The influence approach of import and export trade on energy intensity was analyzed, and it was thought that import and export affected energy intensity by influencing energy consumption and GDP. The concept of embedded energy was used to analyze the influence mechanism of import and export on energy consumption. One calculation model was constructed to study the impact of import and export trade on energy intensity. The results show that in the period 1981~1993 there is no relation between trade and energy intensity, and in the period 1994~2006 trade surplus decreases the energy intensity but the effect is very small.