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The liberal theory of industrialism is one of the chief political theories impacting education. Such a framework associates academic achievement directly with employability and establishes education's dominant position in mediating social mobility. However, Chinese graduates are confronted with the broken promises of higher education, since college credentials are no longer regarded as 'golden tickets' that guarantee decent jobs or high social status. Therefore, this paper establishes a critical framework for analysing the liberal theory of industrialism. By referencing to empirical research, the current study provides an in-depth discussion from the national perspective and offers explanations from both quantitative and qualitative evidence. The study suggests that the implementation of the theory in egalitarian societies has been largely compromised with regard to meritocratic selection. Meanwhile, the theory relies on a veil of ignorance, for it assumes that people would have a unanimous perception regarding social status. In both respects, it is argued to be incompatible with the contemporary Chinese context. Thus a more comprehensive and flexible perspective is needed to identify functions of higher education in developing countries.

The booming digital economy is promoting industrial upgrading and transformation, providing an opportunity for the industrial low-carbon development. Based on input–output analysis and panel data regression, the impact of the input of intermediate digital products on Chinese industrial carbon intensity from 1997 to 2017 has been evaluated. The results reveal that the input of China's intermediate digital products can significantly reduce industrial carbon intensity, and significantly reduce the carbon intensity of non-energy-intensive industries. It has also been discovered that the input of intermediate digital product manufacturing can significantly reduce the carbon intensity of different types of industries, while the input of the intermediate digital products services industry has no significant effect on the reduction of industrial carbon intensity. Channel analysis shows that the input of the intermediate digital products can reduce industrial carbon intensity by improving productive efficiency and promoting innovative technology. In the current climate, it is especially necessary to increase the input of the intermediate digital product manufacturing industry in industrial development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the crucial issues confronting China is high carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Despite the numerous measures outlined to promote the country's carbon neutrality target, CO2 emissions in the nation continue to increase. This means that more policy options are needed to help improve environmental sustainability (ES) in the nation. Hence, examining the relationship between financial development (FD), foreign direct investment, industrialization, and environmental sustainability in China to provide proper recommendations to drive the carbon neutrality agenda of the nation is deemed fitting. In attaining this goal, time-series data from the period 1990 to 2018 is employed. According to the results, foreign direct investment deteriorates environmental sustainability by promoting more CO2 emissions. This validates the pollution haven hypothesis (PHH). In addition, industrialization and financial development are not friendly to the nation's environmental quality. Furthermore, economic growth and urbanization escalate environmental pollution in the nation. In addition, the interactions between financial development and foreign direct investment and between financial development and industrialization deteriorate the environment in China. Moreover, foreign direct investment and financial development have an inverted U-shaped association with environmental degradation, but industrialization and environmental pollution are not nonlinearly related. The study advocated for the implementation of measures that could help advance the carbon-neutrality targets of the nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To increase the understanding of how the external environment impact the local industrial development, this study builds a conceptual framework of industrial evolutionary development by integrating evolutionary and developmental theories from the perspective of evolutionary economic geography. This study emphasised the combination of two mechanisms. The first evolutionary mechanism consisting of variation, selection and retention, and the diversity within and between enterprise clusters serves as the starting point for evolution. The external environment selects and retains the most competitive enterprises under the mechanism of selection. The second developmental mechanism is the influence of the external environment on enterprises. The external environment screens and affects the development of firms at and across multiple levels, same level and across levels. Based on the case studies of the e‐sports industry in China, this study finds that technological development has driven the transformation of the e‐sports industry. Additionally, location cost, spatial proximity, local policy, urban strategy and national planning have been identified as crucial factors that influence the location choice of the e‐sports industry. This study highlights the importance of paying more attention to environmental dynamics in the research and practice of industrial evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article utilizes strategic trade theory (STT) to assess China's build-up of its maritime equipment (ME) industry. It does so by analyzing how maritime equipment has been addressed in Five-Year-Plans (FYPs) on the development of the maritime economy since 2013. Thus, it illustrates the importance of constructing integrated demonstration development zones and building-up technological capacities for the ME industry's development. It also details the Chinese government's objective to develop national champions in the ME industry, which corresponds with the broader context of China's Innovation-Driven Development Strategy (IDDS) since 2016. Though trade data illustrates China has not yet taken over the EU's current leadership position in the ME value chain, it does signal that dependence on the EU has been inversed for several categories of the ME industry. EU policymakers need to reflect on the possible ramifications of China's approach for both the EU's economic and security domains in deciding on if, how, and to what degree the EU and its member states should address China's ME build-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a review of the historical trends that are shaping global competition for standard setting in emerging technologies. Specifically, it explores how the traditional rule-makers of international standardization, namely the United States and Europe, are responding to the rise of China in standard-setting. The article argues that three polities are adapting their standard-setting strategies to shifting power dynamics in the international technology order. To preserve its competitive advantage, the US is becoming more interventionist and proactive in setting technology standards. China has developed a long-term standardization strategy to bolster its domestic industrial development, increase its influence and reap greater profits from the process of rule-making. Finally, the EU is seeking a third way that strikes a balance between competition and cooperation to preserve values like interoperability, which have historically benefited its single market and the global economy at large. Our historical review shows that, while the three polities have different priorities and face distinct challenges, they all seem to converge towards a greater role for governments in standard-setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has made great achievements in industrial development and is transforming into a powerful manufacturing country. Meanwhile, the industrial land scale is also expanding. However, whether industrial structure upgrading achieves the purpose of restraining industrial land expansion remains unanswered. By calculating the industrial land structure index (ILSI) and industrial land expansion scale (ILES), this study analyzed their temporal and spatial distribution characteristics at both regional and city levels from 2007 to 2020 in China. Results show that industrial land expansion presents a different trend in the four regions, the ILES in the eastern region is the largest, and the speed of industrial land expansion has declined since 2013, but it has gradually increased since 2016. The ILSI of the eastern and central regions is higher than that of the western and northeastern regions. Furthermore, a spatial Durbin model (SDM) has been established to estimate the spatial effect of industrial structure upgrading on industrial land expansion from 2007 to 2020. Notably, industrial structure upgrading has not slowed industrial land expansion. The eastern and western regions require a greater amount of industrial land while upgrading the industrial structure. The improvement of the infrastructure level and international trade level has promoted industrial land expansion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water has remained a source of contentious and cooperative politics among states since the Sumerian civilization. The field of hydro-politics, since its emergence in the 1990s, had taken note of dams as both a source of conflict between riparian neighbors owing to their threat to the life and property along the transboundary banks, and as a source of cooperation through effective water and knowledge sharing and infrastructural development, promoting peaceful negotiations in good faith in these matters. In this regard, the narrative and practice of infrastructural development by the great powers in their weaker riparian states to enhance their growth has emerged as a new means to increase great power states' power and influence in the international arena. China, in its race against the United States, has emerged as the world's largest dam builder, having extended its construction footprints across many parts of the globe. As rapid industrial development and resultant climate change intensifies the hitherto prevalent water crises, China, through a spate of dam-building among other things, has ensured its water, and consequently food, supply through the accumulation of real and virtual water networks, in a world where basic necessities are gradually becoming scarce. Through a descriptive study, this paper attempts to answer the question of what the implications of China's domestic, regional and global behavior of extensive hydro-infrastructural development are beyond the contemporary economic and political gains for itself. It argues that the objectives of China's dam-building transcend short-term economic and political gains, as it attempts to ensure the possibility of China's long-term hydro-stability in its quest to emerge at the lead of the evolving global order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Territorial spatial planning involves fixability and flexibility in different driving factors related to control and development orientation, and they play an important role in regional sustainable development, especially in developing countries such as China. With rapid urbanisation and industrialisation, China has been impacted by conflicts between development and protection in territorial space. To integrate the contradictions among different territorial spatial planning measures, planners and scholars have started to focus on studies regarding fixability–flexibility relationships and integration. However, the relationship between and integration of fixability and flexibility in territorial spatial planning have yet to be clearly summarised. This paper explores an innovative research direction for the fixability–flexibility relations in territorial spatial planning from a new perspective, the Food–Energy–Water Nexus, which is a dynamic and comprehensive framework for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) studies. This paper covers the existing research on fixability and flexibility in territorial spatial planning. Moreover, after summarising the conflicts of fixability and flexibility, the dialectical relationship between and the integration of fixability and flexibility are researched. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving energy efficiency is vital for addressing climate change and reducing carbon emissions in emerging economies. Financial development (FD) is crucial for economic growth, and its environmental impact and the adjustment of the industrial structure (IND) is a crucial lever in China's economic transition period. This study explored the relationship between FD, IND, and China's green total factor productivity (GTFEE) from 2000 to 2020 using the super-efficiency SBM-undesirable model, which estimates China's GTFEE. The ARDL results suggest that FD and IND enhance GTFEE in the long term, with FD promoting GTFEE by facilitating industrial structure adjustments. The Dumitrescu–Hurlin panel causality tests supported this finding. The QRPD panel quantile regression and heterogeneity analysis revealed significant heterogeneity in the effects. With increasing GTFEE, FD exerts a restraining effect, gradually weakening and transitioning into a promoting effect, while the IND consistently plays a promoting role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve a holistic understanding of the intricate interactions among human activities, atmospheric chemistry, and acid rain in China, a rigorous analysis of rainwater chemistry was made using a dataset comprising 2656 data points from 24 sites. The main cation and anion in the chemical composition of precipitation were Ca2+ and SO42− in China, with an average concentration of 169.9 μeq/L and 135.4 μeq/L, respectively. Acid rain generally occurs in southern cities such as Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Xiamen, and Chongqing. There were evident regional disparities in acidity and ion concentrations in rainwater, with an increase in acidity and a decrease in ion concentrations from north to south across China. Utilizing positive matrix factorization, the study found that NH4+, SO42−, and NO3− mainly originated from anthropogenic sources such as fossil fuel combustion, vehicle exhaust emissions, agricultural fertilization, and industrial emissions (as reflected by F3 and F4). Ca2+ mainly stems from crustal factors, including industrial dust and natural crust (as represented by F1 and F4). Na+ and Cl− were traceable from marine sources (as reflected by F5), while Mg2+ originated from crust origin (as presented by F1). K+ was mainly derived from a mixed source of crust, marine, and biomass burning (as indicated by F2 and F3). The correlation analyses showed that SO42− and NO3− showed significant correlations with GDP and population. F− was associated with wastewater, which may be linked to the production of brick and tiles from clay with high fluoride contents. The pH was negatively related to industrial wastewater. Long-term analysis of precipitation chemistry in four cities suggested a clear decrease in the proportion of SO42− but a considerable increase in the proportion of NO3− in anions in metropolitans of Shanghai and Chongqing due to the environmental measures that targeted reducing sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions and increase of vehicles. This showed that pollution control strategies had an impact on precipitation ion concentrations. These results can conclude that economic and industrial growth, which will increase energy consumption, utilization of coal combustion, and a subsequent rise in pollutant emissions, can contribute to the change in the chemical compositions of rainwater and the exacerbation of acid rain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China effectively utilizes industrialization to enhance the productivity growth of deep-sea cage mariculture. This study reviews the industrialization of deep-sea cage mariculture in China, focusing on three sectors: small-scale cage mariculture, large-scale cage mariculture, and ocean-engineering cage mariculture, based on different productivity levels. The industrialization process is divided into three phases, considering technology development, transformation, and adoption. The performance of each phase is analyzed, revealing that Chinese intensive management of production element resources has led to the successful cultivation of domestic salmon and the development of various open net cage systems, ultimately promoting industrialization of the upstream sectors. It is worth noting that China has close business relations with Norway and Brunei. Despite these successes, some shortcomings still exist, including low profits and the risk of oligopoly formation among mariculture enterprises, which can oversaturate the livelihoods of fishermen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to contribute to the exploration of the ways through which Malaysia—the fourth largest economy in Southeast Asia—has engaged Chinese investment to pursue industrialization. It does so by comparing and contrasting the different approaches by which two of the most important Chinese-financed automobile projects, Chery Automobile's assembly operations in 2008 and Zhejiang Geely's partial acquisition of local producer Proton in 2017, have been embedded into the Malaysian political economy. While Chery Automobile ended up with a conundrum of extremely low local sales, Zhejiang Geely has fostered mutually beneficial partnerships with Proton and its cohort of suppliers that are shaped by the industry's ethnopolitical directives. More recently, Zhejiang Geely has exported an increasingly larger proportion of vehicles from its Malaysian operations. The contrasting fate of these projects illustrates that while they are driven by Chinese money and technological know-how, they are not necessarily Chinese-dominated. It is domestic politics—the establishment of a functional politico-commercial coalition in particular—that matters in shaping the outcome and impact of Chinese investment in Malaysia. More importantly, the paper highlights how foreign direct investment and the supposed (positive and negative) externalities are intimately tied to local factors such as political institutions and ethnocentric directives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While existing research has deepened our understanding of global urban shrinkage, studies on the governance of urban shrinkage in China remain deficient. Based on extensive field research in Suihua, in Northeast China, and applying an institutionalist perspective, this study explored two critical challenges faced by Chinese political institutions concerning their governance of urban shrinkage. First, the absence of well-articulated opinions and clearly defined policies of the central government render the governance of shrinking cities uncertain and over-dependent on the personal position of the shrinking city's immediate superior. Second, the local economic development path of China's shrinking cities often depends on land transactions and pollution-intensive industries, which appear not only to be the main cause of the worsening urban shrinkage, but also the biggest source of locally-generated income. As a result, re-industrialization as the apparently ideal strategy for local development in Northeast China undermines the local government's attempts to counter urban shrinkage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-quality green finance development and environmental efficiency are made possible through economic growth. This study examines the factors affecting investments in green finance and regional environmental efficiency in China from 2008 to 2020, using the GMM model. Results show that green financing positively impacts energy usage restructuring at the national level. However, the impact is limited, despite positive coefficients between financial growth, energy prices, and energy usage patterns. In the central area, green financial development benefits energy usage structure, while in the eastern region, economic and industrial development have little effect. The study provides strategic recommendations for China's green funding to support the adaptation of energy use structures. • High-quality green finance develops environmental efficiency. • Green financing positively impacts energy restructuring. • Study provides strategic recommendations for China's green funding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to understand how Brazilian companies exporting to China develop Guanxi as an organizational practice and how these companies can use Guanxi as a stimulus for intercultural adaptation and to reduce the psychic distance between Brazil and China. Method: This was a multiple case study using in-depth interviews and secondary data research from three major meat exporting companies to China. Additionally, interviews were conducted with ten experts who have experience in the subject. Data analysis was performed using content analysis, supported by ATLAS.ti software. Main Results: The results show that: the factors of psychic distance between Brazil and China are administration (including legal issues), economic and industrial development, and culture; to deal with these factors, companies demonstrate that they are knowledgeable about and extensively use Guanxi; Guanxi is effectively presented as an organizational practice and as a stimulus for intercultural adaptation and the minimization of psychic distance barriers. Relevance / Originality: The study contributes to the field of International Business by highlighting the incorporation of Guanxi as an organizational practice among companies operating in China and raising questions about its cultural value, future, and the existence of psychic distance in negotiations. The findings have practical implications as they assist Brazilian entrepreneurs in defining export strategies to China. Theoretical / Methodological Contributions: The study provides an essential contribution to the theory as Guanxi is a practice already incorporated by companies dealing with China. New questions arise, such as: To what extent is China still a country that values culture (and Guanxi) and how much it is a business-focused country (similar to European and American ones)? What will be the future of Guanxi? Will it cease to exist or adopt another approach? Does a precise psychic distance still exist between countries in international negotiations? Or are they cultural differences that internationalized companies seek to reduce during business dealings? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small cities located on the periphery of large cities have long faced challenges such as difficulties in economic development and population loss, especially in China. The concentration of a few super-large cities in China has hindered the growth of per capita income in most small cities and led to a widening income gap between cities. In addition, studies have shown that central cities can have a polarizing impact on surrounding areas thereby hindering economic growth. To address these issues, this paper examines Baoding, a small city close to the capital, Beijing. Through literature and policy research, we analyse how Baoding can take advantage of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei integration policy and pursue its urban development in the presence of neighbouring large cities. By providing theoretical suggestions the research contributes to Baodin's urban development through five potential industries: healthcare, automotive, electronics, digital, and tourism. Furthermore, we emphasize the practical contributions such as: the importance of higher education as a key driver of sustainable development for the city. Based on our analysis, we suggest that Baoding's strategic development direction should be aligned with Beijing's needs while recognizing that such alignment is merely a means to an end. The goal of urban development should always be to improve the living standards and well-being of citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of the tertiary industry is of great significance for promoting industrial structure, optimizing and upgrading it, and achieving regional energy conservation and emission reduction goals. This study adopts a quantitative method to analyze the spatio-temporal pattern of carbon emissions from China's tertiary industry from 2004 to 2019. In order to analyze emissions from aspects such as energy structure, energy intensity, energy carrying capacity, industrial structure, level of industrial development, income level, consumption capacity, energy consumption intensity, and population size, this study establishes a hybrid factor decomposition model called the "energy-industry-consumption" research framework. The study shows that carbon emissions from China's tertiary industry have been increasing year by year from 2004 to 2019, with a growth rate of 353.10%. Transportation is the largest contributor to the increase in carbon emissions from China's tertiary industry. The carbon emissions from the tertiary industry in each province show four types: high-speed growth, low-speed growth, fluctuating growth, and stable growth. During the study period, carbon emissions produce a spatial heterogeneity with the highest emissions in the south and lowest in the northwestern part of China. The spatial pattern of per capita carbon emissions is not significant. Guangdong has the highest carbon emissions, and Shanghai and Beijing have higher per capita carbon emissions. Industrial factors and consumption factors have a positive effect on carbon emissions in China's tertiary industry, while energy factors have a negative effect. The leading factor of carbon emissions in China's tertiary industry has gradually shifted from energy to industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study highlights the importance of renewable energy investment in achieving the goal of sustainability. Several studies have been conducted to explore the factors affecting environmental quality. However, the literature on the importance of renewable energy investment in affecting environmental quality is scant. Thus, this study investigates the impact of renewable energy investment on carbon emissions for 24 China provinces from 2005 to 2020, along with green finance, income per capita, technical innovations, and industrial structure. The co-integration test results show a stable long-run association between renewable energy investment and sustainable development with other factors. However, the results of AMG and CCE-MG estimators show the significant contribution of renewable energy investment, technical innovations, and green finance to environmental sustainability. Besides, economic development and industrial infrastructure show an adverse effect on environmental sustainability and cause to increase in carbon emissions. In addition, the moderate role of renewable energy investment in technical innovation and industrial infrastructure significantly contributes to a sustainable environment. On behalf of obtained outcomes, the current study proposes some imperative policy implications to attain the desired level of a sustainable environment. • Renewable energy and sustainable growth. • Research and development, renewable energy, and sustainability. • Impacts of financial development and renewable energy on socioeconomic indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite China's claims that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is an economic co-operation initiative that will foster economic growth and industrial development for recipient countries, to create trade and investment opportunities, and promote peace in the world, the perception of the BRI throughout the world is becoming negative. In response to international criticisms of BRI implementation, in 2019, China's President Xi Jinping pledged to deliver a readjusted BRI 2.0 that would generate benefits for all participating countries, not China alone. Moreover, due to the pressure from recipient countries, Chinese authorities and companies have been applying several readjustment measures in their BRI activities. Central Asia is a priority region for China's foreign policy under the BRI. BRI implementation has helped to expand China's economic interests and influence in Central Asia. However, China's push for the BRI implementation is China-centric, rather than a credible multilateral endeavour as claimed by the Chinese government. As shown in the case of Central Asia, the BRI involves a series of bilateral deals. There is no multilateral decision-making process involved in overseeing BRI or making investment decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Leipzig Trade Fair was the first multilateral international exhibition the People's Republic of China (PRC) attended since 1949. The fair was a venue for the People's Republic of China to trade with both the West and the East and demonstrated China's industrial development and ideology to the rest of the world. Until the outbreak of the Cultural Revolution in 1966, the PRC and German Democratic Republic (GDR) both reaped economic and political benefits from their participation in the Leipzig fair. This study frames the history of China and the Leipzig Trade Fair mainly from the Chinese perspective by focusing on the decision-making and contention of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) policy elites, as well as the efforts of middle-ranking Chinese trade officials to promote trade. It also examines the role of the Leipzig fair in China's trade relations with both the West and the East. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based mainly on Albanian primary sources, this article explores the implications of Albania's economic cooperation with China during the late 1950s and early 1960s. It shows that in Albania's shifting alliances, the role of economic calculations has been as important as that of political convenience. The article argues that China's emphasis on industrialization, mass mobilization and the principle of self-reliance was appealing to Albanian leaders' long-term economic plans. This was even more so after the Comecon division of labour left Albania at the margin of the economic integration of the European Soviet bloc, relegating it to an agriculture-based development. The article also argues that although there was no substantial technological transfer between China and Albania during the 1950s, those years served for Albania as a period of study of the Chinese socialist system, which ultimately suited Albanian leaders' political and economic aims more than the Soviet one. Economic relations with China opened new trade routes for Albania, potentially linking Albania's economy with new markets and the international flows of goods. These opportunities, however, remained fully unexploited due to Albania's own economic shortcomings, limited industrial capacity and poor infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sino–Soviet alliance paved the way for the implementation of a vast and systematic programme of industrial and military construction, as well as one of technology transfer. One of the earliest projects regarded a car-production complex in Changchun, situated in Northeast China's Jilin province. While this factory was built following the highly verticalized model that the Soviets had derived from Fordism, car component clusters proliferated in other areas of China, cooperating with the big industrial complex and eventually surviving as an alternative model until Deng Xiaoping's reforms. Scholars have so far identified the inventive indigenous use of technology during the Great Leap Forward (1958–60) as the main reason for the success of China's dualistic industrialization process. The present article contends that the case of the car industry should be predated and better contextualized. Multi-archival research shows that from 1950 Chinese leaders had already seen the need to keep a foot in the global developments of technology and placed a bet on the pre-1949 Western European, Japanese and Republican legacy. These findings also add to the narrative of the Soviet-led industrialization process by integrating into the picture a strong transnational dimension and by recasting the debate on the Sino–Soviet alliance by placing high-quality technology, materials and human resources centre stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conventional approach to examining firm-to-firm governance is unable to disentangle the complexity of strategies and the interplay between different actors with their corresponding rules and routines embedded within an institutional environment where the state plays as a key equity partner in joint ventures (JVs) in transitional economies. This paper proposes an analytical framework of hybrid governance to explain how an alignment of mutual interests between three groups of heterogeneous multi-scalar actors (states, local and foreign firms) facilitates technological upgrading in JVs and the establishment of local production networks in transitional economies. The case of Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) demonstrates how the divergent interests of various actors do not necessarily constrain the development of the JV. Under such hybrid governance, whereby the boundaries between public and private property are blurred, GAC's senior managers have been able to navigate and align the multifaceted agendas of various actors: from the profit-maximization demanded by foreign JV partners and industrial development commanded by the central state, to the development of the local capacity and capability for large-scale production and product development and setting up local automotive supply chains required by the local state. Three necessary conditions for technological upgrading in JVs are identified: a 50-50 equity structure, a latecomer in a big market, and the financial imperative of local firm actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a key strategy to promote system reform, improve the investment environment, and encourage industrial agglomeration, the national high-tech industrial development zone (NHTDZ) policy in China can not only reduce energy consumption through the scale effect but also improve energy efficiency by modernizing industrial structure and fostering technological innovation, thereby alleviating environmental pollution. Existing studies, however, focus solely on the effects of NHTDZ policy on social and economic development, ignoring their impact on the ecological environment, especially carbon (CO2) emissions that contribute to global warming. Thus, this article analyzes a panel data of 285 prefecture-level cities and above in China from 2003 to 2019 to assess the influence of NHTDZ policy on CO2 emissions, treating the NHTDZ construction since 1988 as a quasi-natural experiment. The results indicate that the NHTDZ policy would mitigate urban carbon emissions, particularly in middle, southeastern, medium-sized, resource-based (RB), non-key environmental protection (non-KEP), and non-two control zone (non-TCZ) cities. In addition, the mediation mechanism test demonstrates that the environmental benefits of the NHTDZ policy in China are attributable to the scale effect, the structural upgrading effect, and the technology innovation effect. The NHTDZ policy would lower per capita CO2 emissions by reducing energy consumption, upgrading industrial structure, and promoting green technology innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capital outflow during industrialization and urbanization is a primary reason for global rural recession, and China is no exception. Since China focuses on the integrated development of urban and rural areas, urban-rural capital flow affects the transformation and sustainable development of rural areas. However, few studies have focused on this issue. Based on long-term field observations of Wufang Village in Shanghai, we established an analytical framework to describe how urban-rural capital flow promotes rural reconstruction. The research results show that the influx of urban industrial and commercial capital results in market-oriented organization and reconstruction focusing on land, industry, and capital: (1) Land-use optimization changes the land ownership and spatial structure of rural areas and improves the spatial value of rural areas. (2) Industrial development is focused on diverse development and the integration of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries in rural areas. (3) Capital investment is performed by a consortium of state-owned enterprises, private enterprises, and rural collective enterprises—which jointly invest, obtain revenue, and share profits—while considering the balance between attracting capital to rural areas and achieving independent development. The experience of Wufang Village has implications for the rural transformation policies of other large cities in China and other countries in Asia and Africa during urbanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through quantitative content analysis, this study outlines the media construction of video games in Chinese newspapers in the period 2010–2020 from four aspects: dominant themes, tones, benefits–threats, and stakeholders. The findings indicate that the dominant themes of game coverage shifted from the commercial and industrial fields to social concerns, while the tone toward gaming became more negative. Entertainment remained the most prominent benefit of gaming in media coverage, while media concerns about game addiction increased immensely. Notably, game developers increased their presence as information sources. They were also the dominant responsibility takers for the gaming impacts in 2010–2015, after which the media more frequently attributed responsibility to all stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universities can contribute to knowledge-based regional development not only in their home region but also in other regions. In a number of countries, universities have established university satellite institutes in additional (host) regions to promote research and technology transfer there. We investigate the role of university satellite institutes in the industrial development of regions, which, albeit not economically marginal, suffer from a weak knowledge infrastructure, limited absorptive capacities for external knowledge in the business sector and hence a low degree of attractiveness for non-local knowledge actors. Despite policy recommendations in favor of establishing satellite institutes, there has only been limited empirical research on this phenomenon, particularly concerning technology transfer ecosystem development. To fill this gap, we provide an exploratory case study of university satellite institutes in the Pearl River Delta of China's Guangdong province. We show how such institutes can be successful in facilitating the development of their host region's technology transfer ecosystems and demonstrate why they should be conceptually included in our existing understanding of third mission activities. Our research centers on the interplay of geographical proximity and non-spatial, organized proximity in the development of interregional knowledge bridges and entrepreneurial opportunities. We argue that the university's geographical proximity is only successful if the satellite institute, by facilitating organized proximity, promotes the geographical proximity of further knowledge actors, hereby propelling ecosystem development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve a holistic understanding of the intricate interactions among human activities, atmospheric chemistry, and acid rain in China, a rigorous analysis of rainwater chemistry was made using a dataset comprising 2656 data points from 24 sites. The main cation and anion in the chemical composition of precipitation were Ca2+ and SO42− in China, with an average concentration of 169.9 μeq/L and 135.4 μeq/L, respectively. Acid rain generally occurs in southern cities such as Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Xiamen, and Chongqing. There were evident regional disparities in acidity and ion concentrations in rainwater, with an increase in acidity and a decrease in ion concentrations from north to south across China. Utilizing positive matrix factorization, the study found that NH4+, SO42−, and NO3− mainly originated from anthropogenic sources such as fossil fuel combustion, vehicle exhaust emissions, agricultural fertilization, and industrial emissions (as reflected by F3 and F4). Ca2+ mainly stems from crustal factors, including industrial dust and natural crust (as represented by F1 and F4). Na+ and Cl− were traceable from marine sources (as reflected by F5), while Mg2+ originated from crust origin (as presented by F1). K+ was mainly derived from a mixed source of crust, marine, and biomass burning (as indicated by F2 and F3). The correlation analyses showed that SO42− and NO3− showed significant correlations with GDP and population. F− was associated with wastewater, which may be linked to the production of brick and tiles from clay with high fluoride contents. The pH was negatively related to industrial wastewater. Long-term analysis of precipitation chemistry in four cities suggested a clear decrease in the proportion of SO42− but a considerable increase in the proportion of NO3− in anions in metropolitans of Shanghai and Chongqing due to the environmental measures that targeted reducing sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions and increase of vehicles. This showed that pollution control strategies had an impact on precipitation ion concentrations. These results can conclude that economic and industrial growth, which will increase energy consumption, utilization of coal combustion, and a subsequent rise in pollutant emissions, can contribute to the change in the chemical compositions of rainwater and the exacerbation of acid rain.

A growing body of research has sought to determine how different factors have affected urbanization in developed countries over the past decades. Yet, few studies have systematically examined urbanization's driving forces, particularly in emerging economies. In 2008–2009, the Chinese government announced an economic stimulus program to revitalize an economy struck by the 2007–2008 Global Financial Crisis. This study aims to identify how urbanization's driving forces evolved under a drastic change in fiscal policy and revisit the conventional urbanization theories in the Chinese context. Using a dataset covering 31 Chinese provinces and spanning the periods 2005–2011 and 2013–2015, we employ panel data regressions to analyze whether such a fiscal arrangement affected urbanization in China. Throughout the entire period, the fiscal stimulus program caused a change in the drivers for urbanization at the national and regional levels. Before the implementation of the program, industrialization drove urbanization. After the program's implementation, land financialization was crucial in promoting urbanization across the country. Our findings challenge the conventional urbanization theory—industrialization is always the primary driving force of urbanization in emerging economies. Land financialization, a kind of tertiary production, can also drive urbanization significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological poverty alleviation (EPA) is a syngenetic approach to tackling challenges in alleviating extreme poverty and ecological protection. Such an approach is crucial to help countries facing these two challenges to accelerate their progression towards meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in 2030. Prior research on EPA was focusing on understanding EPA from a national perspective and limited consideration was given to regional pertinence. This study uses systems thinking to construct causal loop diagrams (CLDs) and analyzes the mechanisms of EPA in Lanping County, Yunnan Province based on qualitative material. It reveals that the dynamics mechanism of EPA in Lanping County consists of seven reinforcing feedback loops and ten balancing feedback loops. Results indicate that external support, funding resources, employment, and endogenous-driven industrial development are the key drivers to successful EPA. Policies should be taken to avoid the risk of returning to poverty caused by the withdrawal of external support. This study proposes an effective tool with system foresight for exploring the mechanism of EPA and provides reference suggestions for poverty alleviation and development worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bioeconomy drives the development of life science and biotechnology as a blueprint for the future development of human society, and offers a cross‐cutting perspective on the societal transformation towards long‐term sustainability and the transition away from the non‐renewable economy. Moreover, the sustainable bioeconomy strategies are consistent with the United Nation's (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and are becoming the centre of the achievement for SDG. The Chinese '14th Five‐Year Plan for Bioeconomy Development' (2021–2025), including the development goals of China's bioeconomy containing biomedicine, agriculture, bio‐manufacturing and bio‐security as a strategic priority, is discussed. The plan offers three pathways to improve bioeconomy, including technological innovation, industrialisation and policy supports. Finally, it concludes China's first bioeconomy development plan as a success, suggesting the key role of industrial biotechnology in bioeconomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The challenges of environmental protection are especially prevalent in South and Southeast Asian nations, which adversely affects their sustainable developmental goals. During the last two decades, increased industrialization and urbanization have caused massive air pollution, particularly in the most industrialized and densely populated countries. Due to China's fast economic expansion and development, the demand for natural resources has increased, resulting in climate change, biodiversity loss, soil degradation, and environmental risks. China's ecological footprint has been the subject of little investigation on the premises of a circular economy. This study used a literature review methodology on the critical key factors that hinder or facilitate the transition of a linear economy towards a circular economy. Further, based on the literature review, this study used industrial ecology, energy efficiency, and waste recycling technology factors to analyze the role of the circular economy on the country's environmental sustainability agenda for the period of 1975–2020. The results show that in the short run, the link between ecological footprints and per capita income is monotonically decreasing; however, in the long run, the relationship is U-shaped. In both the short and long run, waste recycling technology and cleaner manufacturing significantly decrease ecological footprints. Renewable energy consumption increases ecological footprints in the short run but decreases them in the long run. The management of natural resources reduces ecological footprints to support the 'resource blessing' hypothesis. The Granger causality corroborated the unidirectional relationship between ecological footprints, oil rents, and urbanization and ecological footprints. In addition, economic growth Granger causes industrialization and waste recycling technology while green energy Granger causes economic growth, industrialization, and recycling technology. The two-way link between economic development and urbanization exists within a nation. The variance decomposition analysis (VDA) predicts that in the future, China's natural resources, green energy demand, and technological spillover will limit its ecological footprint through material and technology efficiency. [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]

Based on city-level panel data spanning 2008 to 2021, this study investigates the impact of government environmental attention (GEA) on green total factor productivity (GTFP). The findings suggest that increased GEA substantially enhances the growth of GTFP. After conducting robustness and endogeneity tests, the study's results consistently show reliability and robustness. Further analysis elucidates several mechanisms through which GEA influences GTFP, including fostering green technology innovation, optimizing resource allocation, and promoting upgrades in industrial structure. Heterogeneity analyses reveal that the impact of GEA on GTFP is notably pronounced in eastern cities, as well as in cities characterized by low resource dependency, mature industrial development, and high market competition. Conversely, the influence of GEA on GTFP is less discernible in cities prioritizing economic development goals, possibly due to differing policy orientations and resource allocation strategies. This study offers a novel perspective on understanding how GEA shape green development and provides empirical support for policy formulation. • This study demonstrates that enhancing Government Environmental Attention (GEA) markedly enhances Green Total Factor Productivity (GTFP), underscoring the favorable influence of environmental initiatives on aggregate economic efficiency. • The research delineates fostering green technology innovation, optimizing resource allocation, and promoting upgrades in industrial structure as pivotal conduits for the favorable influence of GEA on GTFP. • Disparities in the effects of GEA on GTFP across diverse regions and developmental stages are unveiled, accentuating the imperative to customize policy interventions accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental problems not only relate to residents' happiness but also challenge the innovation development of industries. This study first measures the innovation efficiency of China's high-tech industries using the super-efficiency data envelopment analysis model and portrays its spatial characteristics through the Moran's I index and the local indicators of spatial association map. Second, we use the entropy weight method to construct the local living environment index from both natural and social environments. Finally, we utilize spatial econometric models to analyze the impact of local living environment on high-tech industries' innovation efficiency. The results reveal that, first, the spatial variation of innovation efficiency in China's high-tech industries is significant, with efficiency being higher in the east than the Midwest, and higher in the south than the north. Second, innovation efficiency has a positive adjacent and geographical spatial autocorrelation, and low-low agglomeration and low-high agglomeration dominate the types of spatial correlation. Finally, the contribution of the local living environment to the innovation efficiency of high-tech industries is positive and significant. This contribution has an obvious spatial spillover effect and regional heterogeneity. This study can help regional governments to improve local living environments and promote industrial innovation and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

African nations are trying to diversify their economies in order to induce industrialization that will help them eradicate poverty and create employment for their young workforce. One of the continent's key challenges continues to be the shortage of physical infrastructure. Therefore, finding ways to overcome this problem has become of large importance. China has identified this and has thus enhanced its involvement in Africa primarily via its swap formula. The formula enables the financing and development of infrastructure that African nations critically need by depending on their resource wealth. However, the mounting involvement of the formula has continued to stimulate questions on its impact regarding creating backward and forward linkages. As such, one of the significant aims of this article is to identify linkages that emerge from the Chinese swap formula that involve long-term concessionary loans from China's Exim Bank to finance major infrastructure projects in Africa. It examines whether the swap formula is creating backward and forward linkages in Africa, and what the infrastructure leads to concerning creating novel opportunities for the continent, by theoretically answering this question: "Can China's swap formula create backward and forward linkages?" Furthermore, the article theoretically identifies the benefits and linkages of the formula via a case study – that of Abuja-Kaduna railway. Arguably, the article discovers that the formula has multiple benefits and linkages for Africa. It is also seen by the Chinese government as a way of fulfilling its strategic goals in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the nexus between energy consumption and environmental quality in light of China's 2060 carbon-neutrality agenda utilizing annual frequency data from 1971 to 2018. In order to obtain valid and reliable outcomes, more robust econometric techniques were employed for the analysis. From the results, all the variables were first differenced stationary and cointegrated in the long-run. The elastic effects of the predictors on the explained variable were explored through the ARDL, FMOLS, and the DOLS techniques, and from the discoveries, energy utilization worsened environmental quality in the country via more CO2 emissions. Also, industrialization and urbanization deteriorated the country's environmental quality; however, technological innovations improved ecological quality in the nation. On the causal connections between the variables, a unidirectional causality from energy consumption to CO2 effluents was discovered. Also, feedback causalities between industrialization and CO2 secretions, and between urbanization and CO2 exudates were disclosed. However, there was no causality between technological innovations and CO2 emanations. Based on the findings, the study recommended among others that, since energy consumption pollutes the environment, the country should transition to the utilization of renewable energies. Also, the government should allocate more resources to the renewable energy sector. This will help increase the portion of clean energy in the country's total energy mix. Furthermore, research and development that are linked to the utilization of green energies should be supported by the government. Data constraints were the main limitation of this exploration. Therefore, in the future, if more data become available, similar explorations could be conducted to check the robustness of our study's outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of foreign, partly East Asian producers have made investments into Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county (Northern Hungary) since the millennium. They have contributed to the renewal of the industrial structure and enlargement of manufacturing capacity. In the past decade, the meaning and significance of Chinese investment in the Miskolc agglomeration has increased. Chinese interests have been concentrated in the dominant, export-oriented branches of the regional economy. The companies (namely, Wanhua-BorsodChem, TenPao, SEG-A, JOYSON, and Chervon Auto) comprise a key and real group of members engaged in Hungarian-Chinese bilateral relations. They represent China’s industrial development and expansion around the world and in Europe, as well as strengthen the high-value-added and technology-intensive market segments in the regional economy. The study includes two main parts. In the early sections, the evolution of Chinese economic development with a special focus on industry and industrialization are introduced, while later the related political measures and initiatives are described. Presenting an understanding of the Hungarian government’s reaction (the so-called New Foreign Economic Strategy) is part of the first half of the paper. The Flying Geese Paradigm is the conceptual frame of the synthesis. The key research question concerns the nature of Chinese economic development: Does the development differ from previous East-Asian models of export-oriented industrialization? The author discusses opinions which consider the Chinese developments to be distinct from other Asianones according to their political and market characteristics. In the second half of the article, the Chinese companies settled in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county are evaluated and their regional-level impacts and national-level lessons are identified and assessed. The listed Chinese investments, which differ in financial and legal forms, have emerged as some of the major employers and producers of the region. These considerable investments have accelerated the process of industrial renewal in key branches, although ultimately increasing the exposure and vulnerability of the entire manufacturing structure to external global factors. The Chinese investors are bridging Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén with diverse regions in China, East Asia. They are generating new results and raising new questions about Hungarian-Chinese bilateral cooperation that represent original experiences and knowledge gain for both sides. This work is an attempt to detail the creation of the cluster of Chinese companies and to draw conclusions about the entrepreneurial background, the main activities, and the stories of the respective Asian parent companies. This research will be continued to support the development and embedding of the enterprises. It is crucial effort, as the latter are not only now present but essential for Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and Hungary as well.

Raw earth has been one of the first construction techniques. All over the world there is varying evidence of earthen constructions. Thanks to its geological and morphological nature, Italy has a fair number of earthen constructions, albeit of limited dimensions, belonging to a constructive heritage of the past. On the other hand, China, especially the south of the country, is characterized by numerous structures of raw earth of considerable dimensions, recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The research is focused, in the Italian case, on the areas of Lucania and, in the Chinese case, on the areas of the Fujian province. The work illustrates the preliminary results of a multidisciplinary research activity centered on the recovery and enhancement of the vernacular raw earth construction. The future goal of the study is the industrialization and production of raw earth technologies through the implementation of smart manufacturing of innovative materials that will allow the contemporary use of, an ancient sustainable building tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ice-and-snow tourism (IST) is a booming industry, and the development of its industrial clusters reflects its regional development quality. Taking 1985–2021 data for China's IST enterprises, this study used industrial cluster identification and industrial correlation analysis to explore the development of IST industrial clusters. The following results were obtained: (1) China's IST initially formed hotspot industrial clusters in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the Northeast, the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, Chengdu-Chongqing, and Xinjiang regions. (2) Multiple industry forms failed to become deeply integrated into development, indicating a need to optimize the structure of the IST industrial chain. (3) The development environment of IST industrial clusters in each province showed differentiated characteristics. (4) IST industrial clustering was affected by both internal and external factors. External factors were grouped into climate and ice-and-snow resources, government policies and sports events, and economic fundamentals and market conditions. Internal factors included industrial association and industrial integration in the IST industrial cluster. Based on this study's identification of the characteristics of China's IST industrial clusters, countermeasures are proposed for their optimal development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of the implementation effect of the supply-side reform (SSR) in the industrial sector of China's provinces and the reasons behind them are of great significance for China to formulate relevant policies in the future. However, this work has not yet been carried out. Industrial development performance is closely related to energy and environmental efficiency (EEE), and the effect of the SSR implementation is directly reflected in EEE. This study fills this gap by analyzing the EEE of 30 provinces in China from 2012 to 2017 using data envelopment analysis and Malmquist index methods. The results show that the positive effect of China's implementation of SSR has emerged. This positive effect is mainly reflected in the implementation of measures such as reducing overcapacity, which has promoted the technological innovation of enterprises. However, the low management level and resource-allocation efficiency hinder the further improvement of the implementation effect of the SSR, which should be paid special attention to in China's future supply-side reform. In addition, we believe that in the context of China's high-quality development and carbon neutrality goals, the SSR should be given more connotations, which are to increase the requirements for strengthening green and low-carbon development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the importance of decarbonizing industrial parks to low-carbon transformation of industrial sectors, this study aims to unveil the dynamic evolution and progress of low-carbon development in such parks through descriptive, bibliometric, and manifest content analysis. The review goes in two parallel ways: the pros and cons of diverse carbon emission accounting methods and carbon mitigation measures targeting industrial parks, and the three main-stream national policy innovations during the past four years. State-of-the-art scientific research and policy practices have been reviewed to panoramically depict the low-carbon transformation of Chinese industrial parks and distinguish their future bioeconomy pathways. The key findings include: (1) Despite large-scale explorations of carbon accounting for parks, the consistent boundaries of their physical systems and emission inventories must be resolved. (2) Carbon reduction actions are mainly concentrated on unit-level including energy and industrial infrastructure, but the decarbonization of system-level such as multisectoral collaborative systems requires more exploration. (3) Government policies are important for low-carbon development in industrial parks concerning efficiency improvement, synergy of pollution reduction and carbon mitigation, circular economy, performance assessment, structural upgrading, and industrialization–urbanization integration. (4) The bioeconomy must be innovated from both perspectives and the effective combination of unit-level processes (highlighting the application of biobased energy, materials, and equipment) and system-level processes (emphasizing biomimetic industries, biorefinery solutions, and symbiotic ecosystems). This unit–system integrated model is oriented to further bioeconomy both in Chinese industrial parks and similar industrial clusters in other developing countries. • State-of-the-art articles and policies targeting low-carbon parks are reviewed. • Vision, evolution, and carbon reduction initiatives in China are explored. • Parks are embracing mass–intensity control from energy to carbon in the life cycle. • Features and connotations of bioeconomy in industrial parks are elaborated. • Unit–system integrated measures for bioeconomy development in parks are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Realizing the ecological value of rural areas through industrial development is an indispensable pathway of global rural sustainable development. However, it is still unclear how to choose efficient rural industrial development modes (RIDMs) for ecological value realization in rural areas due to the lack of quantitative measures. In this study, a quantitative measurement is proposed to identify the RIDMs and evaluate their capability of realizing the ecological value in 2, 090 counties of China. The results show that the modernization of planting industry and integration of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries are the two most prevalent RIDMs in rural China, while the integration of agriculture and tourism and ecological tourism are the two most ecologically efficient RIDMs. Besides, the ecological value of rural China (63.11 trillion yuan) is much higher than its economic value produced (50.43 trillion yuan) in 2020, and their spatial distributions are mismatched. The western region of rural China has an enormous ecological value but create a low economic output. Our findings highlight the importance of realizing the vast ecological value of rural areas through effective RIDMs to promote the rural sustainable development in China and other developing countries. • A quantitative method is proposed to identify the rural industrial development modes (RIDMs) in China. • Modernization of planting industry and integration of three industries are the two most prevalent RIDMs in China. • Integration of agriculture and tourism and ecological tourism are the two most ecologically efficient RIDMs in China. • The ecological value of rural China is much higher than its economic value, and their spatial distributions are mismatched. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rural development pressure and the problem of "three-stay" in the process of rapid urbanization are important issues that are currently concerned by the development of countries and regions in the world. This paper builds an evaluation model of rural development pressure and left-behind to analyze the spatial differences and characteristics of rural development pressure and the "three-stay" problem in Jinchang City, Hexi Corridor, China, in 2019. Then, we explored the relationship between them. The conclusions are: (1) Jinchang City has the lowest pressure on infrastructure and the largest pressure on industrial development, with significant spatial differences in comprehensive pressure. (2) Jinchang City is dominated by double pressure villages (40.60%) and comprehensive pressure villages (38.35%). Single-pressure villages (19.55%) and non-pressure villages (1.50%) account for relatively small proportions. (3) The population of "three-stay" in Jinchang City is 1,642, accounting for 1.19% of the total rural population. The middle and low-level left-behind areas have the largest number, accounting for 76.69% of the total administrative villages. The types of left-behind villages are mainly dominated by left-behind children and left-behind elderly people, accounting for 71.72% of the total number of left-behind villages. (4) Homestead per household, the rate of network coverage, per capita cultivated land area, and the number of specialized farmer cooperatives owned are the main factors affecting different types of left-behind villages, and each factor has different effects on different types of left-behind villages. This paper can provide a theoretical basis for implementing the rural revitalization strategy and scientifically solving the rural "three-stay" problems. • This paper explores the spatial differences and characteristics of ""three-stay ". • Reveals the formation mechanism of rural left-behind. • It provides a theoretical basis for solving the problem of "three-stay" in rural areas scientifically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines cross-national differences in workplace flexibility between the U.S. and China. Data from 2,688 employees of three multinational corporations with worksites located in both the U.S. and China demonstrated that Chinese viewed workplace flexibility as less important, perceived fewer benefits and more costs associated with its use, and reported less access to and use of flexibility than Americans. Access to flexibility was linked to higher job satisfaction for Americans, but not for Chinese. Both access to and use of flexibility were linked to higher satisfaction with work-family balance for Americans, but not for Chinese, with the exception of access to flexplace that was linked to higher satisfaction with work-family balance for both. We conclude that workplace flexibility policies may produce different results in countries with different levels of industrialization (developed vs. emerging) and cultural orientation (individualism-collectivism) and suggest that such policies should be customized to improve their congruence with national contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysis of deindustrialisation remains dominated by studies of the OECD countries. The process has only recently been studied in newly industrialised countries and regions yet in a geographically constrained manner, dominated by macro-level, sectorial-based analytical frameworks. China so far has not featured highly in this emerging literature as its deindustrialisation is a more recent phenomenon overshadowed by ongoing industrialisation. This article contributes to an understanding of deindustrialisation in a microscopic empirical analysis of a China case. The microscopic approach is particularly relevant in China where state-owned, self-contained enterprises, or 'danweis', used to shape the industrial and social lives of urban Chinese, but it is also relevant to understanding processes of deindustrialisation elsewhere where these involve iconic, single industry or company communities. Adopting a case-study ethnographic approach, this study examines the transformation experienced by the iconic Wuhan Iron and Steel Company (WISCO) in Wuhan, Central China, and reveals variations in the pace of change in industrialisation and the 'half-life' of deindustrialisation as it is moderated by the institutionalisation and social life of danweis in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The harm of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to human health and the natural environment has become an indisputable fact. Compared with other pollutants, PAHs are more toxic at low environmental concentrations, especially in industrialized environments. This study investigated the concentration distribution of soil PAHs at a well-known industrial production site in China and applied the Monte Carlo simulation method to assess the risk of cancer caused by the excessive accidental intake of PAHs in brownfield development environments. The results showed that the PAH content of the soil at the study site exceeded the local soil quality background value to varying degrees, and the excess rate ranged from 0.72 to 22.3%. There are serious health risks of BaP at the site, which has a 95th health risk percentile value of 1.12E-04. Those for BbF, InP, and DBA range from 1.0×10−6 to 1.0×10−4, and potential health risks occur. Moreover, the exposure duration and average carcinogenic time were the most influential parameters. The study has revealed that exposure to brownfield soil contaminated with PAHs increases the health risks. This is a representative study on the occurrence and concentration of PAHs in industrial brownfields in China, which can be adopted as a basis and evidence for pollution risk assessment of brownfield development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What are the circumstances under which latecomer firms can develop indigenous innovative capacity and compete globally? China's construction of a vast domestic security apparatus has contributed to it becoming the world's largest supplier and consumer of video surveillance products and services. It has also produced several globally competitive companies, including those engaged in digital surveillance. Although security equipment producers initially emerged in Guangdong province, China's leading technology companies are concentrated in Zhejiang province. This comparative study is motivated by the puzzle of why Guangdong, which has a larger security equipment industry with more local investment and earlier introduction of foreign technology, has lagged behind Zhejiang in technological upgrading. We trace this provincial variation to the policy choices of local state bureaucracies and the business strategies of local enterprises. While macro-level variables such as market demand and establishing national industry standards are important for industrial development, this study demonstrates the critical role of local technocrats and entrepreneurs in facilitating technological innovation in a rapidly evolving surveillance regime. Our analysis also reveals how latecomers to a technology-intensive industry were able to adapt their products strategically to meet the technical demands of a major segment of the domestic market, China's public security sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]