Economic network dynamics: a structural analysis of the international connectivity of Chinese manufacturing firms (original) (raw)

PurposeThis paper explores international trade of the Chinese manufacturing industries through the lenses of network analysis (NA) to visualise the world trade network of the Chinese economy, describe its topology and better explain the international organisation of Chinese manufacturing industries.Design/methodology/approachThe authors built a dataset of 40,550 Chinese companies and their 107,026 subsidiaries in 118 countries from Orbis-BVD and used a NA to investigate the connection between China and other countries. In particular, the authors studied the connections between Chinese companies and their subsidiaries in order to build a network of Chinese industries.FindingsThe authors found that the network of Chinese companies is ramified but not wide and it can be divided into two clusters. Moreover, the relations between China and other peripheral countries are strongly mediated by a few leading locations (e.g. Hong Kong and the USA).Originality/valueThis paper contributes to th...