A Comparative Study of Chinese and Foreign Green Development from the Perspective of Mapping Knowledge Domains

This paper identifies the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics, research hotspots, research frontiers and knowledge base of green development research by using the bibliometric method, mapping knowledge domains and spatial analysis method, and through making a comparison of green development research between China and foreign. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) The number of research literature on green development in China and aboard both show a trend of increasing year by year, and the gap of annual volume evolve a M-shaped trend compared with international scholars. The United States and China are both major countries in green development research, and their international academic cooperation is relatively close. Moreover, the main research findings are concentrated in the northern hemisphere while there is less distribution in the southern hemisphere, and the eastern and western hemispheres are distributed widely. (2) The research hotspots of China’s green development mainly include development concepts, regional and urban development and ecological environment while international green development mainly include green economy, framework, city and supply chain management. (3) The frontiers of China’s green development research are focused on coordinated development, ecological environment and green development concepts while international green development research are more abundant. (4) The knowledge base of the research includes Manuscript of Economics and Philosophy in 1844, the concept of sustainable development and the theory of two mountains