TITLE:
A Bibliometric Analysis of Research on China’s Industrial Chain Resilience: Shifts in Focus and Development Trends (2018-2025)
AUTHORS:
Longlong Duan, Yu Gan
KEYWORDS:
Industrial Chain Resilience, Citespace, Bibliometrics, Evolutionary Characteristics, Research Hotspots
JOURNAL NAME:
Theoretical Economics Letters,
Vol.16 No.3,
June
3,
2026
ABSTRACT: Industrial chain resilience is a key factor in ensuring stable industrial supply and promoting high-quality industrial development in complex environments. With the convergence of global shifts and domestic transformation issues since 2018, the research and practical value of industrial chain resilience has become increasingly prominent. This paper conducts a bibliometric analysis rather than an empirical study on China’s industrial chains themselves. This paper selects 259 core journal articles on industrial chain resilience from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database over the period 2018-2025. It conducts a visual knowledge map analysis and systematically traces the evolutionary path and core characteristics of relevant research. The findings reveal: ① The volume of industrial resilience literature exhibits a phased pattern of “fluctuating growth followed by rapid ascent,” entering a peak research period after 2020 driven by sudden risk events; ② Research hotspots primarily revolve around four dimensions: the integration of industrial chains and the digital-physical convergence in manufacturing, the digital economy and industrial structure upgrading, technology-driven industrial chain resilience, and rural digital agriculture; ③ Cutting-edge topics focus on the synergistic empowerment of industrial resilience through digital technologies and data elements, the spatial effects of artificial intelligence in driving industrial structural upgrading, and the resilience of digitalization and food security. Research hotspots are summarized as four stable thematic clusters that form the field’s foundational knowledge system. Research frontiers refer to emerging, policy-oriented, and spatially focused themes that have emerged since 2023, with clear temporal and logical boundaries distinguishing them from hotspots. The bibliometric analysis of this study indicates that future research should strengthen exploration in the areas of optimizing industrial chain layout, digital transformation of industrial chains, and the resilience of agricultural industrial chains.