Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40653539›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2025

Spatial evolution of international air cargo network connectivity in China: 1996-2019.

Xu Xu, Jicheng Liu, Jialin Jiang, Bo Lin, Linna Li

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Xu XuCollege of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, 325035, China.
Jicheng LiuCollege of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, 325035, China.
Jialin JiangFaculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
Bo LinCollege of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, 325035, China.
Linna LiFaculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China. draway123@163.com.

Funding

Key Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China 42430409
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The interconnection of transport infrastructure is a priority area under the Belt and Road Initiative and holds significant implications for global socio-economic development. Air network connectivity plays a vital role in shaping transport efficiency. From a global air transport network perspective, this study investigates the spatial evolution of China's international air cargo network connectivity between 1996 and 2019. Using OAG global flight schedule data from five representative years (1996, 2002, 2008, 2014, and 2019), we apply complex network theory and graph-theoretical methods, incorporating tools such as UciNet and ArcMap. Three key indicators, weighted degree centrality, betweenness centrality, and K-core decomposition, are employed to analyze changes, evolutionary patterns, and driving factors of network connectivity. The findings reveal that with shifting global economic and policy environments, China's air cargo network connectivity has gradually strengthened, with an increasingly hierarchical structure and more diversified and efficient network forms. Freighter and bellyhold cargo routes differ markedly in network evolution: freighter routes display a stable core-periphery structure shaped by industrial and policy factors, while bellyhold routes evolve path-dependently alongside passenger services, shifting from concentration to decentralization. This study demonstrates the dynamic restructuring of China's international air cargo connectivity under the dual forces of globalization and regionalization. It provides theoretical insights and decision-making references for enhancing China's air transport efficiency and supporting the implementation of the Belt and Road vision, thereby contributing to the advancement of global integration.

Indexed as

Air cargo transportationConnectivityTransport geographyTransport network

Identifiers

PMID40653539
PMCPMC12256597

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.