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Arid Land Geography ›› 2026, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (9): 1877-1889.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2025.713

• Urban Geography • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Spatiotemporal pattern evolution and vulnerability assessment of China’s interprovincial innovation network

LIU Yuxuan1(), JIANG Zizhen1,2, ZHANG Chenghe1, LAN Yihong1, WANG Meimei1,3()   

  1. 1 College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China
    2 School of Urban Planning and Design, Peking University, Shenzhen 518055, Guangdong, China
    3 Data Intelligence Laboratory of Human-Environment System on Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China
  • Received:2025-11-04 Revised:2026-03-31 Online:2026-09-25 Published:2026-09-07
  • Contact: WANG Meimei E-mail:320220946871@lzu.edu.cn;wangmm@lzu.edu.cn

Abstract:

Due to deglobalization and technological restrictions, building a robust and efficient innovation network system is a critical foundation for safeguarding national innovation security. From the perspective of vulnerability, this study constructs an analytical framework of “structural diagnosis-vulnerability assessment-overall optimization” to systematically examine the spatiotemporal pattern evolution and structural risks of China’s interprovincial innovation network from 2018 to 2023. The results reveal the following: (1) The intensity of interprovincial innovation linkages in China continuously increased from 2018 to 2023, and both network connectivity and knowledge diffusion efficiency improved. However, significant spatial disparities remain. The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Pearl River Delta have formed stable core innovation hubs, while parts of northeast, northwest, and southwest China are still on the network periphery, resulting in an overall structural pattern characterized by “core strengthening and peripheral polarization”. (2) The community structure of the innovation network remains generally stable. Innovation collaborations have gradually shifted from cross-regional “enclave-type” connections toward geographically proximate or policy-coordinated regions, forming a structure dominated by high-density communities, such as the Yangtze River Delta, while peripheral communities remain insufficiently embedded. (3) Innovation collaboration has strong dependence on a few key nodes. Continuous failures of core nodes may rapidly reduce network efficiency and trigger structural fragmentation. However, as the intermediary roles of secondary nodes strengthen, the network gradually evolves from a single-hub structure toward a polycentric structure, thereby enhancing the system’s resilience to shocks to some extent. This study deepens our understanding of structural risks in regional innovation systems from the perspective of complex networks and provides theoretical support for balancing efficiency, equity, and security in the development of innovation networks.

Key words: innovation network, patent cooperation, spatiotemporal pattern, vulnerability