Abstract
Abstract Collaborative efforts in the extraction and commerce of mineral resources within the Belt and Road Initiative framework have the potential to significantly mitigate the scarcity of mineral resources in China. Such cooperation serves as a crucial safeguard for ensuring resource security and the steady progression of China’s supply chain operations. Moreover, it acts as a catalyst for fostering high-caliber economic growth throughout the regions along the Belt and Road routes. Based on the abundance of mineral resources, the mineral resources themselves, and the three interconnected subsystems within the framework of regional economic trade, the entropy-based approach is employed to ascertain the weight assigned to each indicator. This method leverages the correlation with the quantitative metrics of the model to harmonize, scrutinize, and reconcile the varying levels of priority attached to mineral resources across different models, distinct subsystems, as well as within the broader systems governing regional economic development and the synchronization of mineral-related trade activities. Under the strategic idea of “jointly grasping great protection and not engaging in large-scale development” put forward by General Secretary Xi Jinping, an evaluation system with 11 specific variables has been formed, and the objective weight values of the three major systems are calculated according to the data of the six countries. The evaluation indicators of mineral resources, regional economy and mineral trade are calculated separately based on the evaluation indicators of each country. According to the data of the Regional Comprehensive Assessment System from 2017 to 2022, the entire region is transforming from a moderately imbalanced range to a well-coordinated imbalanced range.