Abstract:

Against the backdrop of intensifying global economic and trade uncertainties, supply chain resilience has become a pivotal driver of firm competitiveness and a cornerstone of national economic security. Drawing on the National Enterprise Tax Survey and the Qichacha database, this study constructs micro-level supply chain indicators covering 3.3 million enterprise-to-enterprise pairs from 2011 to 2020.By analyzing firm-level supply chain resilience and network structures, we find that the overall resilience of Chinese enterprises’ supply chains has exhibited a steady upward trend. Supply chain systems are evolving from a “core–periphery” configuration toward a multi-nodal, decentralized, and highly collaborative elastic network structure, reflecting structural reconstruction and partial functional upgrading. Broadly aware of the risks of “chain disruption”, firms have proactively adopted diversified layouts and strengthened cooperation to mitigate vulnerabilities. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that domestic enterprises outperform foreign-invested firms in enhancing supply chain resilience. In “bottleneck” industries, resilience has significantly improved under policy support and domestic substitution initiatives, while strategic emerging industries have developed diversified supply chain structures by leveraging technological advancements. Further evidence shows that, with accelerated network restructuring, resilience improvements are particularly pronounced in key sectors such as manufacturing, mining, and information technology services. This study offers important insights for fostering autonomous and controllable supply chains in China. It also provides policy implications for strengthening and stabilizing supply chains and improving resilience and security levels.

Key words: supply chain resilience, strengthening and stabilizing supply chains, bottleneck industries, strategic emerging industries