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Summary: Fermented vegetables are nutritionally beneficial and promote good health. China possesses abundant raw vegetable materials and has a longstanding history of fermented vegetable production. However, the traditional process of vegetable fermentation heavily relies on individual producers' experience and knowledge, resulting in inconsistent flavours, variable quality, and the potential generation of harmful substances. The utilisation of lactic acid fermentation starters can effectively inhibit pathogenic bacteria during the fermentation process, enhance product flavour, reduce nitrite production, improve functional and nutritional value, as well as extend shelf‐life. This article comprehensively reviews factors influencing vegetable fermentation; diverse functions performed by lactic acid bacteria throughout the fermentation process and assesses the current industrialisation status of vegetable fermentation in China. It serves as a valuable reference for promoting high‐quality development within the fermented vegetable industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the "double carbon" target was proposed in 2020, emissions reduction has become the focus of the Chinese government's work. Industrial development is a crucial factor contributing to the increase in carbon emissions. Therefore, implementing carbon reduction in the industrial sector is an important part of China's goal of "double carbon." In this context, this paper uses a three‐stage data envelopment analysis model to calculate the green total factor productivity (GTFP) of 18 industry sectors in Shanxi Province. The results show that: (1) the external environment has influence on the GTFP of energy revolution reform pilot area industrial sectors, and the efficiency value of two industries is overestimated before excluding environmental factors; (2) the industry difference of GTFP is significant, among which pharmaceutical manufacturing industry has the greatest promoting effect on GTFP, and ferrous metal mining and dressing industry has the greatest inhibiting effect on GTFP; (3) there is a serious redundancy in R&D investment of energy revolution reform pilot area in China, and only six industries belong to zero redundancy. (4) To reflect the GTFP of various industrial sectors more clearly, this paper divides four industries: "Double‐high" industry, "High‐low" industry, "Low‐high" industry, and "Double‐low" industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development zones constitute a special type of place‐based policy that has been implemented worldwide. As an essential economic development engine, Chinese National Economic and Technological Development Zones (NETDZs) are perceived as a successful example. However, few studies have looked into the channel effects at work in development zones concerning industrialization and urbanization, despite the crucial nature of such effects with regard to sustainable development of development zones. Following a brief description of NETDZs and their theoretical mechanisms with urban economic performance, industrialization, and urbanization, this study used a simultaneous equation model to generate empirical evidence of the impact of the establishment of NETDZs on urban economic performance and its channel effects through industrialization and urbanization. The results confirm that NETDZs exerts a positive and significant impact on urban economic performance, and NETDZs also show indirect influence in urban growth through urbanization. Although significant and positive intermediation of industrialization remains invalid, foreign direct investment and investment in fixed assets are still crucial in Chinese industrialization. Both industrialization and urbanization play an important role in Chinese urban economic development. Meanwhile, compared with eastern regions more influenced by urbanization, industrialization still acts as a major impetus in inland China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is undergoing important reforms in its welfare system, and some scholars agree that a new 'social policy era' took place in the 2000s–2010s. Although welfare development theories—typically, the industrialisation thesis and the power resources approach—are well established in social policy research, welfare change and its determinants in China are still poorly understood in international literature. Making use of official statistics at the provincial level, this study examines whether industrialisation is associated with welfare development in China during the 'social policy era' (2000–2019). We contribute to welfare development literature by, first, measuring welfare effort in China while addressing comparability issues (the 'dependent variable problem'); and, secondly, testing the industrialisation thesis, amongst others, through a fixed‐effects time‐series‐cross‐section data analysis on provincial‐level statistics covering 30 provinces during 20 time points (2000–2019). Results show that the industrialisation theory is indeed important for welfare development in China, but several less‐developed provinces also experienced substantial improvement in their welfare spending irrespective of their local revenues, suggesting that redistribution at the level of the central government and political reform are increasingly important topics for future welfare studies in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In global pattern reconstruction, ecological civilization construction and integrated urban–rural development in the new era as well as outlining a new framework for rural development and promoting efficient operation of the coordination mechanism for rural development are urgently required. This paper considers three northeastern provinces of China as an example, attempts to analyze the relationship between the subsystems of rural development, and examines the coupling coordination mechanism of population, land, and industry money in the four‐dimensional system. It explores the evolution path and defects of rural development in Northeast China under the background of transformation from a systematic perspective. We found that the coupling degree of "population‐land‐industry‐money" in rural Northeast China is high, while the coordination degree is low. The degree of spatial and temporal differentiation of the coupling coordination degree gradually increases, and the rural development of each province is highly unbalanced. The results also indicate that the main reasons for the low level of the coupling coordination degree are improved land development levels, a relative shortage of labor force, backward industrial development, and increasingly weak rural investment levels. Finally, this paper illustrates that the main solutions to rural revitalization are stimulating rural investment through policies and promoting the revival of agriculture, with financial support as the starting point, before establishing the linkage and mutual feed development of "population‐land‐industry‐money" in rural areas. The results will help countries, especially developing countries, to further consider methods toward achieving rural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the considerable constraints of karst rocky desertification on the production and life of the locals and the regional economy, few studies have been conducted on areas with karst rocky desertification with the aim of exploring the balance between ecological governance and industrial development. In light of the promotion of featured advantageous industries to ecological governance and industrial development, this study aims to explore the mechanism of industrial revitalization in areas with karst rocky desertification to provide theoretical support for their industrial revitalization. Based on actor‐network theory, this paper presents a case study of Bashan village, a typical area in Guizhou province, China, with karst rocky desertification, to clarify the course of development of its Zanthoxylum bungeanum industry and propose a mechanism for its revitalization. The findings identify the main actors of the revitalization of the Z. bungeanum industry and reveal the driving forces behind it. Moreover, the study found that the industrial revitalization model is a bottom‐up process, which suggests strong endogenous dynamics. Through the revitalization of the featured industries, the results of the management of rocky desertification are transformed into economic output, which improved the livelihood of farmers and consolidated the effectiveness of management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of the mechanism of rural economic restructuring is the basis for promoting the optimal restructuring of the rural economy and society as well as for reviving the countryside. We conducted a case study of Gongyi, a typical region experiencing rapid industrialization in inland China and systematically reviewed its economic restructuring process over the past 40 years after China's reform and opening‐up. On the basis of identifying spatial interfaces in Gongyi, we analyzed the influence of these spatial interfaces on the rural economic restructuring in Gongyi using geodetectors. The study showed that the influence of different types of interfaces has had a temporal evolutionary effect, the influence of a single human interface was higher than that of a natural interface. With the different stages of economic development, the influence of the interface is also differentiated. The influence of multiple interfaces increased after superposition, and the superposition of different types of interfaces constituted different patterns of rural economic restructuring in Gongyi. Overall, the influence of physical spatial interfaces on rural economic restructuring has decreased. Therefore, greater attention should be paid to the influence of abstract spatial interfaces in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insects are the largest biological group on the earth, characterized by high biodiversity, easy rearing, and large populations. The utilization of insects in China has a long history and some insect species have contributed to the formation of characteristic industries. Insect products, such as silk and honey, are already familiar to the public; however, many beneficial insects and their products are not well known to most people, for example, lac insect and lac, gall aphid and Chinese gallnut, and insect wax. A new industry featuring the utilization and industrialization of insects has been rising in China. Chemically, insect products are used as raw materials; agriculturally, insects are utilized to pollinate crops for better yield; natural enemy insects have been reared to control pests; insect protein may be used for human food or animal feed; medicinally, chemical compounds may be extracted from insects as active ingredients for pharmaceutical usage; and ornamental butterfly has been applied in travel sightseeing. Insects' new purpose and function will be exploited as they gain recognition for their resources. This paper reviews insect industrialization in China and discusses the prospect of insect commerce in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aluminum production is a major energy consumer and source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The regional transfer of the primary aluminum (PA) industry, which mainly consists of the processes of electrolysis and aluminum ingot casting, is currently an important international trend in aluminum industrial development. However, the changes in GHG emissions from aluminum production for such transfers are unclear. This study has established a life cycle assessment model of aluminum industry based on regional transfers in the context of China, determined the GHG emissions of PA and secondary aluminum (SA) production, examined the GHG emission changes of PA production based on regional industry transfer between the years 2007 and 2017, and explored seven driving factors that affect GHG emissions in the aluminum industry. GHG emissions per unit PA and SA production in China decreased by 18.6% and 6.3%, respectively, but the total GHG emissions from aluminum industry still increased by 2.2 times between the years 2007 and 2017. The driving factor analysis showed that the major positive effects of GHG emissions from China's aluminum industry from 2007 to 2017 included the production scale effect of SA and the energy structure effect. Existing regional transfers (between the years 2007 and 2017) did not deliver significant annual GHG emissions reductions. Currently, Xinjiang, Henan, Shandong, and Inner Mongolia are the main PA production provinces in China, although regional transfers have been implemented. This study provides a basis for the improvement and sustainable development of the aluminum industry, suggests policies for regional aluminum development, and proposes a beneficial layout of the aluminum industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]