Research On The Impact Of The Trade Network Characteristics Of Lithium Minerals On Export Competitiveness

With various economies around the world proposing energy-saving and emission reduction policies,industries such as new energy and lithium batteries have flourished,driving an increase in demand for lithium ore products.In addition,due to the long production cycle from mining to refining of lithium ore products,competition among countries regarding lithium resources will become more intense in the future.Lithium,as one of China’s strategic mineral resources,is still not comprehensive enough to analyze its competitiveness solely through trade volume.It is necessary to be part of the global lithium ore trade network and analyze the trade behavior of various countries.Therefore,this article explores the impact of the trade network characteristics of lithium ore products on export competitiveness from a complex network perspective.The research content of this thesis is mainly divided into five parts.Firstly,based on existing research,relevant literature on trade network characteristics and export competitiveness was reviewed and mechanism analysis was conducted.Secondly,using global lithium product trade data from 2007 to 2020,a global lithium product trade network was constructed to study the characteristics of the global lithium product trade network from both an overall and individual perspective.Once again,calculate the export competitiveness index from the dimensions of competitive advantage and comparative advantage,and obtain the comprehensive export competitiveness index through the entropy method.Analyze the changes in the global lithium ore midstream,downstream,and overall export competitiveness index.Fourthly,an econometric model was constructed to empirically analyze the impact of the trade network characteristics of lithium ore products on the export competitiveness of 155 countries.Finally,based on theoretical and empirical analysis results,relevant policy recommendations are proposed to improve the export competitiveness of China’s lithium ore products.The following conclusions are drawn in this thesis.Firstly,the global trade scale of lithium ore products is showing an expanding trend,with increasingly close trade connections between countries and increasing efficiency.The cohesion of trade networks is constantly enhancing,and the degree of collectivization is increasing.Specifically,the average clustering coefficient is constantly increasing,while the average path length is decreasing;China,South Korea,and Japan have shown good and stable performance in terms of network centrality and network connection strength;In the indicators of network heterogeneity,countries such as China,the United States,and Belgium perform better in terms of limited scale and have more effective trade relations.However,China’s restriction index needs to be improved,indicating a greater likelihood of being constrained in trade.Secondly,in terms of export competitiveness index,countries with resource endowment advantages and developed countries perform better.Specifically,Chile,as a country with significant resource endowments,has a much higher export competitiveness than other countries in the world;Except for Chile,China and Belgium have relatively high export competitiveness in the trade of lithium intermediate products;The competition in the middle reaches of lithium resources is more intense compared to the downstream;Singapore,Indonesia,and the United States have higher competitiveness in downstream lithium resource exports,while China’s downstream lithium resource export competitiveness still needs to be improved.Thirdly,the trade network characteristics of lithium ore products have a significant impact on the export competitiveness of countries.Specifically,both network centrality and network connection strength indicators have a significant promoting effect on export competitiveness;The effective scale and limitation of network heterogeneity indicators play a promoting and inhibiting role in export competitiveness,respectively.Based on the research findings,this article proposes the following suggestions.China should expand the scope of trade partners,expand trade channels,reduce dependence on existing trade channels,increase trade share,and strengthen trade relations.At the same time,we will build a trade development community and accelerate the integration of the lithium industry chain layout,in order to enhance the export competitiveness of China’s lithium products and enhance our voice in global lithium resource trade.