Copper ore material footprints and transfers embodied in domestic and international trade of provinces in China

Abstract

Copper is a critical material for development and plays a profound role in transitioning to a low‐carbon future. China is the main copper consumer in recent decades that has a fast‐growing domestic market accompanied by active international trade. Given the large regional differences within China, it is relevant to understand the domestic driving forces of copper demands and the cascading effects on international regions. Here we combine the newly developed copper ore extraction datasets and the Chinese interprovincial nested global multi‐regional input–output models to explore the copper ore material footprints (CuMF), the interprovincial CuMF transfers, and the international CuMF transfers of provinces. Results show that at the initial stage of clean energy development (2007–2012), most provinces in China are, to a great degree (∼50%), relatively reliant on international copper inputs. The manufacturing sector is the main driving force of international CuMF transfers while the construction sector drives most interprovincial CuMF transfers, with the total volume of international CuMF transfers recently tripling. The central provinces in the industrial transition period and the northwestern provinces in the initial development stage saw the fastest growth in international and interprovincial CuMF transfers, respectively. The economic growth and low‐carbon transition will further advance copper‐related manufacturing and construction activities while other evidences indicate that the degree of foreign inputs to meet copper demand may peak and the interprovincial supply may rise continuously. Targeted governance of these sectors may effectively reduce high dependence on the international copper supply and ensure an efficient interprovincial CuMF transfer pattern.

A Detailed Examination of China’s Clean Energy Mineral Consumption: Footprints, Trends, and Drivers

“…This could be attributable to the prevalent use of copper in electrical and electronic products, where copper demand is escalating in line with population growth and rising energy needs. Study [49] highlights the potential interplay of population migration on copper's resource dynamics, further affirming our observations. The model returned an R 2 value of 0.7311, a MSE of 0.5702, a MAE of 0.5739, and a RMSE of 0.7551.…”

“…The remaining sectors, S6 to S42, are subsequently renumbered to sectors S32 to S68. The expanded mathematical expression [49] is as follows: DZ r,s i,j denotes the expanded input-output table, signifying the flow from the first i sector in the r province to the j sector in the s province. Equations ( 5)-( 8) outline the inter-sectoral flows across provinces.…”

Material and Carbon Footprints of Machinery Capital

“…Building on this, we reviewed previous studies − and found consistent outcomes (Table S4). One aspect not factored in is the effect of yield: the volume of materials retained in the product during its production.…”

Direct, Embedded, and Embodied Trade of Arsenic: 1990–2019

“…However, China maintains a substantial reliance on imports for certain strategic resources, such as copper and tin ores, despite possessing the world’s largest reserves of arsenic minerals . China is estimated to have the largest demand for refined copper in Asia, accounting for 50% of the global demand . With regard to the global indirect arsenic trade network, the arsenic demand and consumption center transferred to China during this period, subsequently extending to Southeast Asia.…”

“…42 China is estimated to have the largest demand for refined copper in Asia, accounting for 50% of the global demand. 43 With regard to the global indirect arsenic trade network, the arsenic demand and consumption center transferred to China during this period, subsequently extending to Southeast Asia. Trade groups exhibit more regular evolution in recent years, with arsenic trade between countries being less affected by geographical location than in the past and resource-rich countries having significant advantages and forming sporadic trade networks (see Figure S4 of the Supporting Information).…”