ABSTRACT
This chapter proposes systematic methodologies for a quantitative analysis of hub dependency and vulnerability in inter-regional liner shipping connections between a pair of regions. It considers significance (or salience) offering an intrinsic classification of a given set of inter-port container flows linking the two analyzed regions, either significant or non-significant, where a threshold for significance is determined. In China's case, the chapter identifies the external and internal hub ports that are important for the fulfilment of China's international liner shipping connections with individual overseas regions, and measures the levels of hub dependency and vulnerability therein. The chapter introduces data sources and methodology. It is followed by an analysis of traffic concentration of China's international container flows by overseas region and by the core analysis of hub dependency and vulnerability in the sub-distributions of China's international container flows with individual overseas regions.
