Study on the asymmetric QRE network game simulation of the South China Sea route trade cooperation

Abstract

This paper explores in depth the cooperative mechanism of the “Community of Shared Future” and its influencing factors. According to the theory of geo-economics, the trading network of the South China Sea Route (SCSR) was constructed on the basis of trade routes and weighted by trade volume. The asymmetric Quantal Response Equilibrium (QRE) model was introduced to establish a complex network game model of trade cooperation in the SCSR in order to investigate the influencing factors on community cooperation. Through simulation tests, the influence of the participants' cognitive beliefs on self-action sensitivity, cognitive beliefs about the reaction sensitivity of other participants, the proportion of initial collaborators, rewards from neighboring countries, and implementation cost of environmental barriers on the cooperation of the SCSR were investigated. We concluded that the subjective cognitive asymmetry among countries will restrict the trade cooperation of SCSR to a certain extent. Policy recommendations to promote the cooperation of the SCSR were provided based on our findings.