	Variable	Definition	Expected Symbol	Data Source
Dependent Variable	X_ijt	Export value of small commodities from Zhejiang to country j in year t.		National Bureau of Statistics of China
Core Variable	EP_it	Severity of the COVID-19 epidemic in Zhejiang in year t.	-	Calculated by the authors using the indicators in Table 1.
Core Variable	EP_jt	Severity of the COVID-19 epidemic in country j in year t.	-	Calculated by the authors using the indicators in Table 1.
Control Variable	BR_jt	If country j is a country along the “Belt and Road” initiative in year t, BR_jt = 1; If it is not, BR_jt = 0.	+	Belt and Road Portal https://www.yidaiyilu.gov.cn/
	GDP_jt	GDP of Zhejiang in year t.	+	National Bureau of Statistics of China
	GDP_jt	GDP of country j in year t.	+	Juhui Data https://www.gotohui.com/
	POP_it	Population of Zhejiang in year t.	-	Zhejiang Provincial Bureau of Statistics
	POP_jt	Population of country j in year t.	-	World Bank
	GD_ij	Geographical distance between Zhejiang and country j.	-	CEPII—GeoDist Database (Mayer & Zignago, 2011)