Objective/Meaning China is the largest cotton consumption country in the world, but also the largest cotton producing country. The cotton import is an effective way to solve the shortage of cotton yield in China. By measuring the efficiency and trade potential of cotton trade between China and the major countries in this paper, it aimed to clarify the current situation of cotton trade efficiency between China and the major countries and the factors affecting the trade efficiency, improve the efficiency of cross-border cotton trade, and ensure the security of cotton industry in China.

Methods/Procedures Based on the panel data of 57 countries in the cotton trade of China from 2012 to 2022, the stochastic frontier gravity model and inefficiency model were used to empirically analyze the factors affecting the efficiency of cotton trade in China, and to calculate the potential of cotton trade.

Results/Conclusions The main conclusions were as follows: (1) The cotton trade between China and the major countries was affected by the total population, aggregate economic volume and geographical distance. (2) The cotton trade was affected by the labor input, Internet penetration rate, infrastructure level, degree of openness and urbanization level. (3) Australia, Vietnam, Benin and Uzbekistan were the countries which had higher trading efficiency with China, and the countries such as India, the United States, Vietnam, Australia, and Brazil had higher trade potential.