Mapping the structure and dynamics of global high-tech aerospace trade

The aerospace industry is a fast-growing high-tech sector related to the national economic lifeline and national defence security. In the context of prosperous cooperation and fierce competition between countries, a multi-layered global aerospace network, from production to trade, has been formed. However, the high-tech aerospace trade structure and its spatial pattern as the mirror of the industry lack systematic research. This study constructs global high-tech aerospace trade networks to review the trade dynamics, identify the core countries and explore the regional structure and geographical characteristics. Different high-tech aerospace segments show varying evolutionary characteristics, with exports more concentrated than imports. The United States and Western Europe dominate the import and export market in all categories of high-tech aerospace trade, especially in high-end segment, holding organizational authority in the community structure. Although Asia is rising rapidly in some areas, it still has a long way to go to become a global hub.