Research on the spatial structure and influencing factors of iron ore trade in “the Belt and Road” countries

Iron ore trade in countries along the “the Belt and Road” line plays an important role in economic construction and development.Based on the trade data of UN Comtrade database from 2008 to 2017,the spatial structure and influencing factors of iron ore trade among 60 countries along “the Belt and Road” route are analyzed by social network analysis method(SNA).The results show that the density of iron ore trade network is low.China,Russia,Ukraine and India are the stable nodes of the trade network.In the trade network of 2017,China,Turkey and other countries serve as a bridge to transmit network information,while Russia,Ukraine,India and other countries dominate the whole network trend.The main influencing factors of iron ore trade network are land proximity,common cultural background and institutional differences among countries,but there is little correlation with geographical distance and economic development differences among countries.