Comparative study of the China and U.S. import trade structure based on the global chromium ore trade network

As a critical mineral with highly effective strategic uses, chromium is highly unevenly distributed, leading to frequent international chromium ore trading. As the two most important global economies, China and the U.S., the chromium ore importing market is essential to utilize different trading partner structures. This paper constructed chromium ore import trade networks using trade volume and trade increment. The research then tests the similarities of China's trading partner structures and the U.S. chromium ore importing market combined with a Kendall correlation analysis and Quadratic Assignment Procedure. We aim to verify the correlation and dependence of chromium ore import trade patterns between China and the U.S. while analyzing the chromium ore importing trading communities globally. The results show that the trading partner structure of China and the U.S. is different, which is respectively "small community with more partners" and "large community with fewer partners". Their chromium ore importing markets operate and develop independently. China is more influential in global importing market. For development demand and structural stability, building more partnerships is necessary for both countries. China also needs to maintain colossal production and consumption, while the U.S. needs to improve trade security.