Structure Function And Carbon Emission Evolution Characteristics Of China’s International Trade Symbiosis Network

Since China’s Reform and Opening-up,particularly following it’s accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001,China has made remarkable strides in the realm of foreign trade.However,the current model of extensive foreign trade development,characterized by high energy consumption,high emissions and high pollution,has resulted in an enormous amount of embodied carbon in China’s export products.As the largest carbon emitter in the world,China is facing intense pressure from the global community to reduce it’s carbon emissions.International trade plays a significant role in China’s carbon emissions,how to accurately account for China’s carbon emissions in international trade activities and scientifically analyze the evolutionary trends of China’s trade and industrial structure are key issues that China needs to address urgently in international trade.Therefore,it is imperative to study the structure function and carbon emission evolution characteristics of China’s international trade symbiosis network.Doing so holds significant practical significance,as it can help China achieve economic growth through trade while reducing carbon emissions and building a green industry and trade structure system.This study first constructs an international trade symbiosis network by taking industrial sectors of different countries（regions）as nodes and interindustry monetary commodity flows as directed linking paths,and then quantitative characterizes the international trade symbiosis network through multi-regional input-output table.On this basis,the monetary flows of China’s international trade symbiosis network in 2000,2005,2010,2015 and 2020 are converted into carbon emission flows through an environmentally extended multi-regional input-output model,and the carbon emission network model of international trade symbiosis network is constructed based on carbon emission flows.The ecological network analysis method is employed to investigate the structure,function,and sustainability of the international trade symbiosis network,and further analyzes the evolution characteristics of carbon emissions of China’s industrial sectors under the evolution trend of international trade symbiosis network structure and function.The main conclusions are as follows:（1）During the period 2000-2020,the construction industry and public administration,education,health,recreation and other services industry exhibited a strong dependence on the network.The mining and quarrying industry only displayed a strong dependence on the electricity,gas,and water industry during the study period,and the degree of dependence continued to rise from 0.56 in 2000 to0.80 in 2020,with a growth rate of 43.17%.This suggests that these sectors warrant greater attention for future industrial and trade restructuring.Moreover,the ecological hierarchy of driving force and pull within the trade symbiosis network exhibited an irregular structure during the study period.（2）During the period 2000-2020,the construction industry and electricity,gas,and water industry are both the main contributors to direct utility and the main recipients of indirect utility.The mutualistic relationship of the mining and quarrying industry,the electricity,gas and water industry,and the trade industry with other countries（regions）consistently rank in the top three of all utility relationships and 30.88%of utility relationships shifting among China’s industrial sectors.The robustness of the China’s trade symbiosis network is in an unsustainable state with high redundancy and low efficiency,and there is ample room for adjustment.（3）During the years 2000 to 2020,China’s production-side carbon emissions increased significantly from 3178.05 Mt CO₂e to 10903.21 Mt CO₂e,with a growth rate of 243.08%.And the main sectors causing production-side carbon emissions are the electricity,gas,and water industry,the petroleum,chemical,and non-metallic mineral products industry,and the metal and metal products industry.During the period 2000-2020,Row Asia and Pacific region,EU,the United States,Japan and Row Middle East region were the main countries（regions）that caused the export of carbon emissions from China’s production side.Moreover,the carbon emissions from China’s industrial sector flowing to the United States,Japan and EU industrial sectors follow a relatively similar pattern along the industrial chain.（4）The construction industry,public administration,education,health,recreation and other services industry,electricity,gas and water industry and electrical equipment and machinery industry contributed between 64.29%to 71.46%of China’s total consumption-side carbon emissions during 2000-2020.Meanwhile,China’s consumption-side carbon emissions were mainly driven by Row Asia,Row Middle East,Russia,EU and the United States,but the supply chain flow path of carbon emissions from the industrial sectors of these countries（regions）to China’s industrial sector varied significantly during this time period.Under the dual pressure of global warming and energy scarcity,the analysis results of this paper offer valuable theoretical support for China to restructure its industrial and trade networks to achieve sustainable economic development.