Revealing Guangdong’s Bridging Role in Embodied Energy Flows Through International and Domestic Trade

Qiqi Liu, Yu Yang (), Yi Liu and Xiaoying Qian
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Qiqi Liu: Key Laboratory of Regional Sustainable Development Modeling, Institute of Geographic Science and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Yu Yang: Key Laboratory of Regional Sustainable Development Modeling, Institute of Geographic Science and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Yi Liu: Key Laboratory of Regional Sustainable Development Modeling, Institute of Geographic Science and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Xiaoying Qian: Key Laboratory of Regional Sustainable Development Modeling, Institute of Geographic Science and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 21, 1-21

Abstract: Embodied energy flows link production systems with the energy sector, reflecting dependencies and structural risks under globalization and regional coordination. Guangdong, China’s most manufacturing-intensive, open, and energy-consuming province, is a central hub in both global value chains and domestic production networks, playing a pivotal role in national energy security. Understanding Guangdong’s embodied energy flows is essential for revealing the transmission of energy across multi-level spatial systems and the resilience of China’s energy infrastructure. This study integrates international (EXIOBASE) and Chinese inter-provincial input–output data to build a province-level nested global MRIO model, combined with Structural Path Analysis (SPA), to characterize Guangdong’s manufacturing embodied energy flows in domestic and international dual circulation from 2002 to 2017. Our findings confirm Guangdong’s pivotal bridging role in embodied energy transfers. First, flows are dual-directional and dominated by international transfers. Second, energy efficiency has improved, narrowing the intensity gap between export- and domestic-oriented industries. Third, flows have diversified spatially from concentration in developed regions toward developing regions, with domestic inter-provincial flows more dispersed. Finally, embodied energy remains highly concentrated across sectors, with leading industries shifting from labor- and capital-intensive to capital- and technology-intensive sectors. This research offers vital empirical evidence and policy reference for enhancing national energy security and optimizing spatial energy allocation.

Keywords: Guangdong’s manufacturing sector; international-domestic dual flows; embodied energy; input–output analysis; structural path analysis (SPA) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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