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

Abstract 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.