The Structure Evolution and Influencing Factors of the Paper Products Trade Network in the "Belt and Road" Countries

Clarifying the development pattern, conditions and status of the paper products trade in the "Belt and Road" countries will play a very important role in further optimizing the paper product trade. Based on the paper trade data of the initial 65 member countries of the "Belt and Road" from 2000 to 2020, this paper uses social network analysis methods to analyze the structure characteristics and evolutionary trends, and uses the quadratic assignment procedure (QAP) to explore its driving factors. The research results show that the paper products trade network shows obvious spatial correlations, spillover effects and core-peripheral characteristics. The scale of trade has expanded significantly, and the stability of the network has gradually increased. China's position in the network is becoming more and more important, while the centeredness of Russia, Hungary, Slovakia and other countries is declining. The cultural distance, geographic distance, and forest resource endowment distance among the "Belt and Road" countries negatively affect the formation of the paper products trade network, while the FTA network positively affects the formation of trade ties.