{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,3]],"date-time":"2026-07-03T04:03:44Z","timestamp":1783051424648,"version":"3.54.6"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,7]],"date-time":"2025-05-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1746576000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","award":["72373135"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["72373135"]}]},{"name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","award":["22YJAZH027"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["22YJAZH027"]}]},{"name":"Humanities and Social Sciences Research Fund of the Ministry of Education of China","award":["72373135"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["72373135"]}]},{"name":"Humanities and Social Sciences Research Fund of the Ministry of Education of China","award":["22YJAZH027"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["22YJAZH027"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Systems"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This paper examines the spatial and temporal evolution of the global industrial robot trade network (GIRTN) from 2000 to 2023 using complex network analysis, and it systematically evaluates China\u2019s position in the GIRTN and its evolutionary trend by combining node reciprocity, the industry concentration index, the Herfindahl\u2013Hirschman index, and betweenness centrality. The study shows that the GIRTN is characterized by significant imbalance, a \u201csmall world\u201d, and weak reciprocity. Traditional industrial countries such as Japan, Germany, and France have dominated the global market for a long time, accounting for more than 80% of the market share. However, market imbalances have been mitigated with the rise of emerging economies such as China, South Korea, and Singapore. Despite increasing global trade linkages, there are significant differences in trade intensity. China\u2019s position and competitiveness in the GIRTN have significantly improved, as demonstrated by its continued rise in the ranking of total exports, the improvement in the attractiveness and quality of its products, the diversification of its trading partners, and the optimization of its export structure. These changes indicate that China has gained significant competitive advantages and has great potential for development.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/systems13050361","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,7]],"date-time":"2025-05-07T11:46:19Z","timestamp":1746618379000},"page":"361","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":27,"title":["The Global Industrial Robot Trade Network: Evolution and China\u2019s Rising International Competitiveness"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Huijie","family":"Yang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"International Business School, Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, Shanghai 201620, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shaobin","family":"Wei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Digital Economy and Financial Powerhouse Building, Guangdong University of Finance, Guangzhou 510521, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Haiyan","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Graduate School, Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology, Cabanatuan 3100, Philippines"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Feng","family":"Hu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of International Business & Economics Innovation and Governance, Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, Shanghai 200336, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yufeng","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Economics and Management, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hao","family":"Hu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Economics, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"753","DOI":"10.1162\/rest_a_00754","article-title":"Robots at Work","volume":"100","author":"Graetz","year":"2018","journal-title":"Rev. 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