IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i9p7297-d1134564.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Using the DTFM Method to Analyse the Degradation Process of Bilateral Trade Relations between China and Australia

Author

Listed:
  • Xiaoyang Han

    (Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China)

  • Sijing Ye

    (Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
    State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China)

  • Shuyi Ren

    (Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China)

  • Changqing Song

    (Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
    State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China)

Abstract

Quantitative assessment and visual analysis of the multidimensional features of international bilateral product trade are crucial for global trade research. However, current methods face poor salience and expression issues when analysing the characteristics of China—Australia bilateral trade from 1998 to 2019. To address this, we propose a new perspective that involves period division, feature extraction, construction of product space, and spatiotemporal analysis by selecting the display competitive advantage index using the digital trade feature map (DTFM) method. Our results reveal that the distribution of product importance in China—Australia bilateral trade is heavy-tailed, and that the number of essential products has decreased by 68% over time. The proportion of products in which China dominates increased from 71% to 77%. Furthermore, Australia consistently maintains dominance in the most crucial development in trade, and the supremacy of the head product is becoming stronger. Based on these findings, the stability of bilateral trade between Australia and China is declining, and the pattern of polarisation in the importance of traded products is worsening. This paper proposes a novel method for studying Sino—Australian trade support. The analytical approach presented can be extended to analyse the features of bilateral trade between other countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiaoyang Han & Sijing Ye & Shuyi Ren & Changqing Song, 2023. "Using the DTFM Method to Analyse the Degradation Process of Bilateral Trade Relations between China and Australia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-22, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:9:p:7297-:d:1134564
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/9/7297/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/9/7297/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ricardo Hausmann & Bailey Klinger, 2007. "The Structure of the Product Space and the Evolution of Comparative Advantage," Growth Lab Working Papers 10, Harvard's Growth Lab.
    2. Hao, Xiaoqing & An, Haizhong & Sun, Xiaoqi & Zhong, Weiqiong, 2018. "The import competition relationship and intensity in the international iron ore trade: From network perspective," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 45-54.
    3. Dong, Chao & Yin, Qiuju & Lane, Kevin J. & Yan, Zhijun & Shi, Tianyu & Liu, Yan & Bell, Michelle L., 2018. "Competition and transmission evolution of global food trade: A case study of wheat," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 509(C), pages 998-1008.
    4. Chapagain, A.K. & Hoekstra, A.Y., 2011. "The blue, green and grey water footprint of rice from production and consumption perspectives," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(4), pages 749-758, February.
    5. Bai, Xiao & Hu, Xiaoqian & Wang, Chao & Lim, Ming K. & Vilela, André L.M. & Ghadimi, Pezhman & Yao, Cuiyou & Stanley, H. Eugene & Xu, Huji, 2022. "Most influential countries in the international medical device trade: Network-based analysis," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 604(C).
    6. Cesar A. Hidalgo & Ricardo Hausmann, 2009. "The Building Blocks of Economic Complexity," Papers 0909.3890, arXiv.org.
    7. Vollrath, Thomas, 1987. "Revealed Competitive Advantage For Wheat," Staff Reports 277915, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    8. Bin Jiang & Junjun Yin, 2014. "Ht-Index for Quantifying the Fractal or Scaling Structure of Geographic Features," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 104(3), pages 530-540, May.
    9. C. A. Hidalgo & B. Klinger & A. -L. Barabasi & R. Hausmann, 2007. "The Product Space Conditions the Development of Nations," Papers 0708.2090, arXiv.org.
    10. Li, Wenlong & Huang, Shupei & Qi, Yabin & An, Haizhong, 2022. "RDEU hawk-dove game analysis of the China-Australia iron ore trade conflict," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    11. Tcha, MoonJoong & Wright, Damione, 1999. "Determinants of China's import demand for Australia's iron ore," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 143-149, September.
    12. Luoming Hu & Changqing Song & Sijing Ye & Peichao Gao, 2022. "Spatiotemporal Statistical Imbalance: A Long-Term Neglected Defect in UN Comtrade Dataset," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-17, January.
    13. Sijing Ye & Changxiu Cheng & Changqing Song & Shi Shen, 2021. "Visualizing bivariate local spatial autocorrelation between commodity revealed comparative advantage index of China and USA from a new space perspective," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 53(2), pages 223-226, March.
    14. Ye, Sijing & Song, Changqing & Shen, Shi & Gao, Peichao & Cheng, Changxiu & Cheng, Feng & Wan, Changjun & Zhu, Dehai, 2020. "Spatial pattern of arable land-use intensity in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    15. Sijing Ye & Changqing Song & Peichao Gao & Chenyu Liu & Changxiu Cheng, 2022. "Visualizing clustering characteristics of multidimensional arable land quality indexes at the county level in mainland China," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 54(2), pages 222-225, March.
    16. Carlos Casanova & Le Xia & Romina Ferreira, 2016. "Measuring Latin America’s export dependency on China," Journal of Chinese Economic and Foreign Trade Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 9(3), pages 213-233, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Duygu Buyukyazici & Leonardo Mazzoni & Massimo Riccaboni & Francesco Serti, 2024. "Workplace skills as regional capabilities: relatedness, complexity and industrial diversification of regions," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(3), pages 469-489, March.
    2. Jeroen Content & Nicola Cortinovis & Koen Frenken & Jacob Jordaan, 2022. "The roles of KIBS and R&D in the industrial diversification of regions," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 68(1), pages 29-64, February.
    3. Idsardi, E.F. & Schalkwyk, H.D. & Viviers, W., 2015. "The Agricultural Product Space: Prospects for South Africa," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 211752, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    4. Dany Bahar & Hillel Rapoport & Riccardo Turati, 2019. "Does Birthplace Diversity Affect Economic Complexity? Cross-Country Evidence," CESifo Working Paper Series 7950, CESifo.
    5. Matias Nehuen Iglesias, 2021. "The Overlooked Insights from Correlation Structures in Economic Geography," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2105, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Jan 2021.
    6. Andreas Reinstaller & Werner Hölzl & Johannes Kutsam & Christian Schmid, 2013. "The Development of Productive Structures of EU Member Countries and Their International Competitiveness," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 46823.
    7. Nomaler, Önder & Verspagen, Bart, 2024. "Related or unrelated diversification: What is smart specialization?," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 503-515.
    8. Asier Minondo, 2011. "Does comparative advantage explain countries’ diversification level?," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 147(3), pages 507-526, September.
    9. Jung-In Yeon & Sojung Hwang & Bogang Jun, 2022. "The spillover effect of neighboring port on regional industrial diversification and regional economic resilience," Papers 2204.00189, arXiv.org.
    10. Pinheiro, Cristina, 2025. "Relatedness and economic complexity as tools for industrial policy: Insights and limitations," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 1-10.
    11. Haroon Bhorat & Chris Rooney & François Steenkamp, 2019. "Building Economic Complexity in Africa," Working Papers idrcdprusynthesis, University of Cape Town, Development Policy Research Unit.
    12. repec:wsr:ecbook:2015:i:vi-004 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Kali, Raja & Reyes, Javier & McGee, Joshua & Shirrell, Stuart, 2013. "Growth networks," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 216-227.
    14. Michael Klien & Michael Böheim & Matthias Firgo & Andreas Reinstaller & Peter Reschenhofer & Yvonne Wolfmayr, 2021. "Stärkung der Unabhängigkeit des Wirtschaftsstandortes Österreich bei kritischen Produkten," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 67234.
    15. Riccardo Crescenzi & George Petrakos, 2016. "The European Union and its neighboring countries: The economic geography of trade, Foreign Direct Investment and development," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 34(4), pages 581-591, June.
    16. R. Boschma & Eduardo Hernández-Rodríguez & A. Morrison & C. Pietrobelli, 2021. "Do global value chains and local capabilities matter for economic complexity in EU regions?," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2139, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Dec 2021.
    17. Wonsub Eum & Jeong‐Dong Lee, 2022. "Alternative paths of diversification for developing countries," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(4), pages 2336-2355, November.
    18. Andreas Reinstaller, 2014. "Technologiegeber Österreich. Österreichs Wettbewerbsfähigkeit in Schlüsseltechnologien und Enwicklungspotentiale als Technologiegeber," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 47444.
    19. Ferrarini, Benno & Scaramozzino, Pasquale, 2016. "Production complexity, adaptability and economic growth," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 52-61.
    20. Hausmann, Ricardo & Stock, Daniel P. & Yıldırım, Muhammed A., 2022. "Implied comparative advantage," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(8).
    21. Lengyel, Balázs & Elekes, Zoltán, 2020. "A külföldi tulajdonú vállalatok és az import szerepe a hazai térségek exportjának diverzifikációjában [Foreign-owned firms and the role of their imports in diversifying Hungarys exports]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(4), pages 352-378.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:9:p:7297-:d:1134564. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.