Paper in china

Ts’ai Lun’s paper was made of mulberry bark that was pounded into a sheet and provided a smoother surface for writing compared to earlier forms of paper traced back to 200BCE. The addition of rags and fishnets onto Ts’ai Lun’s paper later improved the writing material. In subsequent years, the Chinese tested different materials in making paper and the quality gradually improved. According to Xu (2018), during the Han period (206-220 CE), a variety of plant material including grasses and vegetable matter were mixed in an attempt to produce better and cheaper paper. Rattan became the favorite and standard raw material for paper for many centuries until the 8th Century. Consequently, China is today an importer of paper pulp to produce enough packaging paper. Nevertheless, the country remains the largest producer of tissue worldwide.

The paper manufacturers of China have no forests of their own and they rely fully on imported paper pulp for their production. International Trade Theories and China’s Paper Industry Nations trade with others for a variety of reasons. The main reason is that no country is self-sufficient to produce all that it needs for its survival and development (Sen, 2010). In 2013 however China restricted the importation of waste paper into the country due to environmental concerns (Chen et al. China escalated the restriction of the importation of waste paper into the country to the prohibition in August 2017, effectively cutting trade ties with the European waste paper market that was its main supplier. In January 2018, China reviewed standards for imported waste paper to contain the utmost 0. non-paper content. Paper mills with a capacity of fewer than 50 megatons per year were totally banned from the importation of waste paper.

The goal is to continue importing the necessary waste paper at better terms (because it is the major market) because it possesses consumer power. In the meantime, China’s focus on developing waste paper recycling plants will render their suppliers scattered across the globe irrelevant with time as it becomes self-sufficient with the restoration of its forest cover. The massive manufacturing capacity of China will provide a ready market for the packaging paper for goods destined for export to the same countries affected by the restrictions on the importation of waste paper. China, therefore, achieves the trade surplus in its favor. China’s Competitive Advantage in Paper Production Porter’s Diamond of Competitive Advantage can explain China’s competitive advantage in the paper industry and trade. the beginning of this paper, it was pointed out that China began using paper about 200BCE although the official date of manufacture of the material was recorded as 105CE.

According to Smith’s theory of absolute advantage, workers became more skilled with the repetition of the same tasks. Over the years, Chinese knowledge and technology in paper manufacturing have placed it the top producer and consumer of the product. China has a highly developed technology sector that has placed it at the top of manufacturing worldwide (Chen et al. The nation adopted an industrialization program in the late 1950s under Chairman Mao to catch up with the Western nations. Related and Supporting Industries The main paper product manufactured by China is packaging paper (Chen et al. China has the world’s most industries that produce almost all products in the world. The factory products require packaging for local and export consumption. All paper manufactured by China, therefore, has a ready market from its factories.

Country Strategy, Structure and Rivalry China’s strategy is to become the world leader in all areas of engagement: economically, politically and in military might (China et al. Lastly, the country’s strategy is world domination, offering industry support against the competition. References Chen, Z. Yue, X. He, Z. Zhang, L. Developments of international trade theory. Dordrecht: Springer. Porter, M. E. Competitive advantage of nations: Creating and sustaining superior performance. Singapore : Palgrave Macmillan.