Despite being a traditional research topic in urban studies, competitive relations among cities have rarely been quantified in empirical research. Drawing on methods of social network analysis, this study aims to extract intercity competitive relations at the global scale based on the global corporate spatial organization of manufacturing. The geographies of competitive relations manifest different patterns from those of global city networks based on cooperative relations. This study finds an inverse U-shaped relationship between cities’ connectivities and their gross intensity of competition. Although most global cities have unique positions in global manufacturing competition, intensive competition occurs among some global cities, whereas extensive competition exists between wide-ranging cities with weak global connectivities. Furthermore, there is strong competition among cities of similar size and among those located in the same region. This research not only re-examines global intercity relations from a competitive perspective but also informs the formulation of policy-making on competition strategies of cities.

中文翻译：

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解析全球制造业企业空间组织中的城际竞争关系

尽管城市间的竞争关系是城市研究的传统研究课题，但在实证研究中却很少被量化。本研究借鉴社会网络分析方法，基于全球制造业企业空间组织，提取全球范围内的城市间竞争关系。竞争关系的地理格局与基于合作关系的全球城市网络呈现出不同的格局。本研究发现城市的连通性与其总体竞争强度之间存在倒 U 形关系。尽管大多数全球城市在全球制造业竞争中具有独特的地位，但一些全球城市之间存在着激烈的竞争，而全球联系较弱的大范围城市之间则存在着广泛的竞争。此外，相似规模的城市之间以及同一地区的城市之间也存在着激烈的竞争。该研究不仅从竞争的角度重新审视全球城际关系，而且为城市竞争策略的制定提供参考。