Fig 1.
Flowchart of the main content.
Table 1.
Classification and definition of customs codes for lithium.
Table 2.
Block classification method of block model.
Fig 2.
Import pattern of lithium of countries along the "Belt and Road".
Fig 3.
Lithium’s export pattern of countries along the B&I.
Note: Figs 2 and 4 were produced based on the standard map GS (2016) 1667 on the website of the Standard Map Service of the Ministry of Natural Resources of China, with no modifications to the boundaries of the base map.
Fig 4.
Current status of the "Belt and Road" lithium trade, spanning the years 2000–2022.
(A) Total lithium trade of countries along the "Belt and Road", 2000–2022. (B) The principal "Belt and Road" lithium-importing nations from 2000 to 2022. (C) Lithium trade flows along the "Belt and Road" in 2022.
Fig 5.
"Belt and Road" trade network density value and reciprocity value.
Fig 6.
Core periphery structure.
Table 3.
Characteristics of trade relations in each section of the trade network.
Table 4.
Top 10 countries for basic lithium products centrality in 2022.
Fig 7.
Top five nations for lithium trade networks based on PageRank.
Table 5.
Definition of indicators and data sources.
Table 6.
Weighted network QAP correlation analysis results.
Table 7.
Unweighted network QAP correlation analysis results.
Table 8.
Unweighted network QAP regression analysis results.