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Ports are critical centers of international trade and global logistics now that economic globalization has taken hold. The efficiency performance of port logistics is crucial to building an emerging pattern of development in which domestic and foreign dual cycles are complementary for China. This paper examines the efficiency performance of 19 ports within five major economic circles in China. It explores how their efficiency is distributed, and the configurations of efficiency improvement during the new normal of China's economy. First, the DEA-BCC model is employed to calculate the technical efficiency performance and distribution of each port from 2011 to 2020. Then, fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) was applied to integrate and analyze the influencing factors. The results show as follows: (1) Each port group performed differently on efficiency rankings, as well as regional distributions. Among these, the port groups of the Bohai Rim region, the Yangtze River Delta region, and the Bohai Rim region continue to rank highly. (2) From the perspective of configuration analysis, the results suggest that government support is not necessary for port logistics with better economic endowments. However, it is critical for backward ones. (3) A rational industrial structure can enhance levels of infrastructure, openness, and information technology, improving port performance. The findings can provide theoretical and practical references for better promoting the development of Chinese port management.al references for better promoting the development of Chinese port management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the influence of international trade, labor flow not only exists in the waves of international labor migration but is also embodied in international products and services. This paper focused on members of the China–Africa Cooperation Forum (FOCAC). We computed and analyzed the sectoral embodied labor transfer between China and Africa from 2000 to 2015 based on the Multiregional Input-Output Method. Our results are as follows: (1) Both China and Africa play roles as labor suppliers in the global supply chain. By ameliorating the trade structure, both China and Africa can better utilize their labor surplus. (2) China and Africa share complementarity in sectoral labor allocation. In short, the embodied labor transfer via international trade between China and Africa has, to some extent, relieved the labor shortage on both sides. (3) Africa has transformed into a net exporter of industrial labor since 2011. By analyzing the embodied labor flow from the global perspective, this paper beats a new path in depicting the effect of international trade on labor allocation, enriches the evaluation of embodied labor transfer between China and Africa, and also provides a beneficial supplement to Multiregional Input-Output analysis in the field of factor flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a special branch of global trade, the trade of agricultural products has an important impact on food security and the environment. In this paper, we studied international trade network of agricultural products from 2000 to 2016 as a whole and in part. We explored the overall characteristics of the network, analyzed the evolution of communities and identified core countries of the communities. The results show that the structure of the trade network became increasingly complex and the trade relations became closer over time. There were four major communities in the network, whose primary core countries were Germany, the United States, Brazil, and China. Since 2007, the community represented by China has disappeared, and the community pattern of the network has been in a three-pillar state and basically stable. We discuss the actual roles of certain trading countries, the formation of communities and the impact of economic events on agricultural products trade. This paper reveals the underlying patterns of the agricultural products trade and provides a way to track its evolution over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the exchange of Ming porcelain between Ming China and Joseon in comparison with those exchanges between Ming and other countries in East Asia in order to bring out similarities and differences and highlight the complexity and dynamics of East Asian cultural exchanges. First, the similarities are that the times when the Ming court bestowed porcelain on other countries were concentrated in the first half of the fifteenth century in most of the Asian region. Within the framework of tribute trade, porcelain with a three-clawed dragon design was found in large quantities. During similar periods of time, Longquan celadon and Jingdezhen blue and white porcelain as well as private kiln porcelain wares increased and had common features. Second, what makes the exchange with Joseon distinctive is the introduction of porcelain overland by Ming envoys whose country of origin was Joseon and the shipment of table ware sets manufactured by Ming imperial kilns. Also, most of the Ming porcelain discovered in Joseon has been Jingdezhen blue and white porcelain which was common with other East Asian countries, but only a few discoveries of Longquan or Zhangzhou wares, nor was there much Kraak ware from Jingdezhen kilns or Southeast Asian celadons. These differences put Joseon in a unique position. This analysis provides an implication that diplomatic interactions and the changes in distribution brought about by the main trading forces should be considered in order to have a deep understanding of porcelain exchange between Ming China and Joseon and throughout East Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the contemporary era, the strategic rivalry between the United States and China is increasingly manifesting itself in the economic domain, leading to concerns about potential economic warfare. This paper delves into the concept of economic war within the context of the U.S.-China strategic competition, examining the various tactics employed, the implications for global trade and investment, and the potential paths forward. Economic warfare refers to the strategic use of economic measures, such as trade barriers, sanctions, subsidies, and other policy tools, to gain an advantage over a competitor. The U.S. and China, being the world's two largest economies, have engaged in a range of economic actions aimed at weakening the other's economic power while strengthening their own. The U.S. has employed tactics such as tariffs, blacklisting Chinese technology companies, and initiating a trade war, citing concerns over unfair Chinese trade practices. China, on the other hand, has pursued strategies like subsidizing domestic industries and promoting indigenous innovation. This economic competition has far-reaching implications for global trade and investment flows, as well as for multinational corporations operating in both markets. Additionally, it raises concerns about potential unintended consequences and the risk of escalation. The paper explores the nuances of this economic rivalry, highlighting the complexities and interdependencies between the two economies. It concludes by offering insights into potential paths forward, emphasizing the importance of dialogue, cooperation, and finding a balance between competition and collaboration in the pursuit of mutual economic interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guangzhou is located in the southern part of China, near the South China Sea, belongs to Guangdong Province. It serves as China's southern gateway to the world and was historically called "The Southern Treasure of the Emperor", playing a crucial role in China's maritime trade history. Throughout Chinese history, Guangzhou underwent several cycles of "closure" and "opening", policies that severely impacted trade. However, foreign merchants never ceased to request permission from the Chinese government to engage in trade. In 1757, Emperor Qianlong decreed Guangzhou as the only one official port for foreign trade. This edict led to the establishment of the one port trading system in Guangzhou, as the Qing government aimed to counter foreign influences and local uprisings while maintaining a self-sufficient small-scale agricultural economy. Western nations and their traders sought opportunities within this system, aspiring to expand trade to other regions of China, even the inland areas. The exclusive status of Guangzhou as China's only one trading port persisted until 1842, following the defeat of the Qing government in the Opium War against Britain, the Nanjing Treaty was signed. This treaty opened Guangzhou, Shanghai, Ningbo, Fuzhou, and Xiamen as trading ports, bringing an end to the one port trading system. The reasons and impacts of the establishment of this system have not been comprehensively analyzed to date. Therefore, this paper based on historical archives, analyzes both the direct and underlying reasons behind Emperor Qianlong's decision and elucidates the system's diverse impacts on various aspects of Qing-era China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban agglomerations are sophisticated territorial systems at the mature stage of city development that are concentrated areas of production and economic activity. Therefore, the study of vulnerability from the perspective of production-living-ecological space is crucial for the sustainable development of the Yellow River Basin and global urban agglomerations. The relationship between productivity, living conditions, and ecological spatial quality is fully considered in this research. By constructing a vulnerability evaluation index system based on the perspectives of production, ecology, and living space, and adopting the entropy value method, comprehensive vulnerability index model, and obstacle factor diagnostic model, the study comprehensively assesses the vulnerability of the urban agglomerations along the Yellow River from 2001 to 2020. The results reveal that the spatial differentiation characteristics of urban agglomeration vulnerability are significant. A clear three-level gradient distribution of high, medium, and low degrees is seen in the overall vulnerability; these correspond to the lower, middle, and upper reaches of the Yellow River Basin, respectively. The percentage of cities with higher and moderate levels of vulnerability did not vary from 2001 to 2020, while the percentage of cities with high levels of vulnerability did. The four dimensions of economic development, leisure and tourism, resource availability, and ecological pressure are the primary determinants of the urban agglomeration's vulnerability along the Yellow River. And the vulnerability factors of various urban agglomerations showed a significant evolutionary trend; the obstacle degree values have declined, and the importance of tourism and leisure functions has gradually increased. Based on the above conclusions, we propose several suggestions to enhance the quality of urban development along the Yellow River urban agglomeration. Including formulating a three-level development strategy, paying attention to ecological and environmental protection, developing domestic and foreign trade, and properly planning and managing the tourism industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Full employment is important to promote the high-quality development of the urban economy. Using urban-level data on China from 2004 to 2018, we analyse the effects and mechanism of expanding imports on urban manufacturing employment. We use the Guiding Opinions on Strengthening Import to Promote Balanced Development of Foreign Trade issued by the China State Council in 2012 as a natural experiment to solve the endogeneity problem. We find that expanding imports significantly increases urban manufacturing employment. This conclusion is still robust after a series of robustness tests. Further mechanism tests reveal that productivity improvements and upgrades to product quality from expanding imports can explain increased urban manufacturing employment. The results of the heterogeneity analysis show that expanding imports promote manufacturing employment in large and medium-sized cities but not small cities. Expanding imports increases employment in manufacturing in cities in different regions, with the largest effects on eastern cities, the second largest effects on western cities, and the smallest effects on central cities. These results suggest that expanding imports is an effective channel for increasing employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the fragmentation of global production, the share of intermediate trade in international trade has increased significantly. Nevertheless, more research must be done on how intermediate trade factors influence energy consumption. This paper utilized the multi-regional input-output (MRIO) model to categorize China's energy utilization into six parts based on its position within the global production chain. Additionally, it examined the impact of intermediate factors on China's energy consumption through index decomposition analysis (IDA). The results revealed that: (1) from 2000 to 2014, intermediate factors led to an increase of 1380.96Mtces in China's energy consumption, accounting for around 37% of the national total; (2) the reduction in efficiency is the primary cause of the surge in domestic intermediate energy consumption, while the increase in market proportion is the dominant driver promoting international intermediate energy consumption growth; (3) the international intermediate proportion contributed the most among all intermediate factors. Drawing upon the findings above, this paper proposed policy recommendations to regulate China's rising energy consumption, precisely the escalation of intermediate process energy usage, focusing on the global production chain. [Display omitted] • Energy consumption is divided into six parts based on the intermediate destination. • Fifteen factors is decomposed based on index decomposition analysis. • The contributions of the structure, proportion, and efficiency changes is considered. • This paper shows a way of identifying the composition of energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increase in a currency internationalization levels can positively impact its credibility in international economic activities, and expand the effective demand and optimize the supply structure for the country's financial service trade. In this way, a state can improve its financial service trade competitiveness in the international market. This study builds a vector autoregressive model based on time-series data of China-US financial services trade from 2010 to 2021, analyzes the impact of different quantitative indicators of RMB internationalization on this trade from the impulse response results, and validates the conclusions using various inspection methods. The results show that the increase in RMB internationalization helps to narrow the China-US financial services trade balance, but with a significant lag. And this effect is heterogeneous in different dimensions, demonstrated by the fact that the development of overseas RMB securities business is more important for the level of RMB internationalization to narrow the China-US financial services trade balance. Finally, among the specific measures to improve its financial services trade, China should focus on developing the international competitiveness of the traditional RMB deposit and loan financial sector, while the competition in the overseas market for high value-added financial businesses must also not be neglected. Furthermore, China needs to implement more targeted RMB internationalization development policies at different levels in the future to provide high-quality financial services to the rest of the world and aid in the economic recovery of the world in the "post-pandemic" era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of import and export trade on carbon emissions (CE), which is correlated with the types of industrial sectors, is growing as globalization progresses. Additionally, trade in nearby regions has an impact on the regional CE. The spatial Durbin model was employed in this study to examine data from 282 Chinese cities between 2010 and 2016. The empirical assessments took into account the imports and exports of minerals, chemicals, metallurgical goods, plastics, machinery, and electronic items. It has been established that, in general, imports decrease local CE while exports enhance it. However, the reverse results are seen when minerals and plastics are exported and metallurgical goods are imported. Imports typically exhibit the same spatial links as direct effects, but exports exhibit the opposite. The study's findings suggest that China should increase its exports of advanced machinery, electronics, and other high-tech goods, increase its imports of clean technologies, and pay attention to the spatial spillover effects of various industrial goods in global trade for environmental governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese Government has promulgated the "Belt and Road Initiative" (BRI) to increase trade flows and integrate goods markets between China and BRI countries. The validity of purchasing power parity (PPP) implies well‐integrated goods markets, a precondition for further economic convergence, and the next stage of economic integration in factor, service, and financial markets. Our study aims to examine the validity of the PPP and the extent of goods market integration between China and selected BRI countries in Africa. Since the functional form of the cointegrating relationship may not be exact or linear, we adopt the nonparametric rank tests for analysis without prior knowledge and specification of the functional form. We also address the rank problems that occur in multivariate rank tests. Our empirical results provide strong evidence of an unrestricted PPP relationship with reasonably strong evidence of nonlinearity in the data. We also find that some African BRI countries have experienced goods market integration with China during the second‐half period only. This indicates that the introduction of the BRI in 2013 and China's active involvement in African economic development through BRI projects are leading to enhanced goods market integration between China and Africa. The results indicate favorable prospects of closer economic cooperation in the factor, service, and financial markets to build a free trade area or common markets with BRI countries in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The core objective of this article is to explore the viability of uncovered interest parity and to reconnoiter major determinants of domestic interest rates of the Pakistan and China economies. It is imperative to study the interest rate parity that assistances to comprehend that exactly how exchange rate and domestic interest rate influence foreign interest rate of two economies in emerging trends in international trade. The World Development Indicators is main source of data gathering, and it ranges from 1980 to 2023 for the analysis of both models. This study considers two models, Engle–Granger causality has been applied in Model 1, to analyze the uncovered interest parity, and findings indicate that the exchange rate of each country has no effect on the interest rate of the other country. However, Model 2 investigates the main determinants of domestic interest rate and their long-run associations for Pakistan and China. To capture the long-run association, ARDL estimation technique has been deployed, and findings show the long-run relations and co-integration among the policy variables of both countries. In Pakistan, consumer price index and exchange rate hold positive linking with the domestic interest rate; however, output level is adversely correlated. The error correction term is 91%, confirming the rapidity of equilibrium adjustment when a shock occurs. Regarding the Chinese economy, consumer price index and exchange rate have a negative impact on China domestic interest rate. The results of the error correction model indicate an 80% speed of convergence in the long run. This study suggests that improvement in productivity and exchange rate may assist both economies to experience steady exchange rate and interest rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces the development process and main characteristics of China’s Hainan Free Trade Port (Hainan FTP) and analyses the risks and challenges China Customs may encounter in matching the high-standard international economic and trade rules in promoting its construction. A comparative analysis is used to demonstrate the comparative advantages of Hainan FTP with other free trade zones (FTZs) around the world. This research shows that, as an important measure of China’s high-level economic reform, even though China Customs has to some extent reformed the tariff collection and supervision models towards Hainan FTP, it is still necessary to improve trade facilitation and continuously optimise the business-enabling environment to achieve high-quality development of Hainan FTP [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]