Abstract: Disentangling inter-country technology dependencies within global production networks provides an important foundation for identifying national technological strengths and clarifying the direction of industrial upgrading. Based on the global input-output tables at constant prices prepared by the Asian Development Bank, this paper constructs an inter-country technology dependence network and quantitatively analyzes its structural characteristics and driving mechanisms. The research findings are as follows: The technology dependence relationship between countries has become increasingly close. The inter-country technology dependence network has the characteristics of“core-periphery”, China, USA and Germany have always occupied the central position of the network. The influence and control of China and the United States in the inter-country technology dependence network are both among the top three, and China’s control and influence have consistently maintained a leading position globally. There is a reciprocity effect, a structure dependence effect and a temporal dependence effect in the inter-country technology dependence network, that is, reciprocity, convergence, transfer, closure and path dependence are obvious. In addition, exogenous mechanisms such as common language, territorial borders, technological complementarity, friend-shoring, and digitization can increase the probability of the formation of countries’technology dependence relationships, but economic distance and tariffs generate an inhibitory effect. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen bilateral economic and trade cooperation, accelerate digital transformation, and promote high-level institutional opening-up to promote the construction of a mutually beneficial transnational technology division of labor system.

Key words: global production network, inter-country technology dependence, betweenness centrality, eigenvector centrality, temporal exponential random graph model