Fig. 1

Above: Total world trade in the period under study. The increasing trend ceases after the 2008 crisis, suggesting structural changes to the system in the subsequent years. Below: Ranking position for total strength (i.e., total import+export) of a few selected countries. A small group of countries (USA, DEU, JPN, GBR, FRA, ITA) dominate the top positions of the ranking for the entire time period, while CHN improves its position over the years to become the top trader in 2014–2015