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The invention of paper has had a significant impact on the world, particularly in the realm of artistic expression. From its earliest precursor, papyrus, used in ancient Egypt, to the development of papermaking in China, paper has played a crucial role in the communication of culture, the advancement of the written word, and the progression of art. Despite the rise of digital media and the push for a paperless society, paper remains important as a surface for all media and as a handmade art form. The evolution of papermaking techniques and its use in various artistic mediums, such as illuminated manuscripts, prints, and watercolors, has contributed to the democratization of art and the exploration of new artistic possibilities. Today, artists continue to value the tactile qualities of paper, even as we move towards a more digital future. [Extracted from the article]

In 2023, China's mechanical paper and paperboard output recorded 144 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 6.6%; paper enterprises above designated size achieved operating income of 1393 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 2.4%; total profits was 51 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.4%. The coming period will be a critical period for the transformation and upgrading of China's papermaking industry. Facing the complex and ever-changing external environment, we must focus on promoting innovative breakthroughs, quality improvement and upgrading in the paper industry, and enhancing the core competitiveness of independent brands. Starting from this issue, the column "Annual Summary" is launched to review the development of China's paper industry in 2023 from multiple perspectives. This issue summarizes the development of some influential pulp, paper, and related enterprises, outlining the annual development of the industry. Now let’s review the achievements and development highlights of these companies in 2023. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's 50-yuan note features a controversial ruler, Mao Tse Tung, and the Potala Palace in Tibet, which was once the Dalai Lama's winter home. The note has a unique design, with a changing serial number and a watermark of Mao. Mao's leadership was marked by the persecution of intellectuals and dissidents, as well as the destruction of cultural artifacts. The Potala Palace, known for its strong cultural significance, is depicted on the back of the note. Collectors interested in world leaders, China, Tibet, and the Dalai Lama may find this note appealing. [Extracted from the article]

China has released new rules for its national carbon market in an effort to reduce an oversupply of permits and encourage large polluters to transition to greener practices. The rules include stricter limits on carrying over unused permits from previous years and a ban on borrowing allowances from future years. These changes aim to create a "slight shortage" of allowances in the market, as opposed to the early years when an abundance of free allowances kept prices low and limited the incentive for power companies to reduce emissions. The market, which began trading in 2021, has faced criticism for its limited impact on emissions in the world's largest polluter. The new rules also set emissions targets for power utilities and require annual compliance reporting. The rules will not constrain power generation, will benefit the most efficient plants, and will continue to exempt gas-burning plants. The market price for allowances has risen since February in anticipation of tighter policies and an earlier compliance deadline. [Extracted from the article]

Purpose: The paper's purpose is to investigate the effects of digital finance on the risk of stock price crashes and the underlying transmission mechanisms, and to provide suggestions to inhibit the stock crash risk (CR). Design/methodology/approach: This paper selects all companies that were listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange from 2011 to 2020. It then uses the two-way fixed effect model and the intermediary effect model to verify such effects. Findings: The overall outcomes demonstrate such a result that the CR of listed companies in China can be significantly reduced by the development of digital finance, and the overall transparency of business financial information and the equity pledge of controlling shareholders are the two underlying transmission mechanisms that digital finance can cause effects on the CR of stocks. Research limitations/implications: The main limitations are that there may exist some problems in the method for evaluating the CR of stocks. And there may be a problem of endogeneity caused by the empirical model cannot control all correlation variables. Practical implications: This paper would provide policy implications, for different roles, to inhibit the stock CR and to make the development of the economy more stabilize. Social implications: Digital finance can promote economic development while restraining financial risks at the same time. Therefore, although this study is based on the relevant data from China, it can also provide a reference for other economies with different basic conditions from China, to promote the overall development of the world economy. Originality/value: The current academic research on digital finance or stock price CR has been relatively sufficient, but there are few papers that combined both. By combining digital finance with stock CR, this paper researches the influence of digital finance on the CR of stocks through empirical analysis. So, this paper would provide new research ideas and evidence for potential influence factors of the CR of stocks, fill the gap in this research field and provide certain help for subsequent scholars to conduct relevant research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of the accounting system reform on corporate innovation behavior and the heterogeneity and underlying mechanisms of this impact. This paper further aims to study the impact of accounting system reform on corporate value. Design/methodology/approach: This study takes China's A-share listed corporates as a sample and uses the exogenous policy shock of the implementation of the New Accounting Standards in 2007 to design the identification strategy of propensity score matching and difference-in-differences method. By comparing the differences between the innovation level of corporates in high-tech industries and non-high-tech industries before and after the implementation of the New Accounting Standards, the impact of the accounting system reform on corporates' innovative behavior can be identified. Findings: Results show that compared with corporates in traditional industries, high-tech corporates obtained higher patent output after the implementation of the New Accounting Standards. This reform mainly affects corporate innovation by improving corporate risk-taking. In addition, this paper finds that the reform of the accounting system has increased the market value of high-tech corporates in the long run. Originality/value: This study provides new empirical evidence for addressing the insufficient innovation incentives for market entities and enriches the existing literature on the economic effects of the change of accounting systems and the influencing factors of corporate innovative behavior from the accounting system perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new report from the University Department of Life Sciences and Public Health discusses the potential of personalized medicine (PM) to revolutionize healthcare by tailoring treatments to individual patients based on their data. The report highlights the need for the seamless integration of innovative technologies and collaboration between the European Union (EU) and China in the field of personalized medicine. A Delphi survey was conducted to identify key priorities for the implementation of personalized medicine, including data interoperability, standards, security measures, international partnerships, cost-effectiveness, and value assessment. The effective implementation of new technologies in personalized medicine is crucial for advancing healthcare systems in both Europe and China. [Extracted from the article]

Purpose: The relationship between industrial policy and exploratory innovation is imperfect. Design/methodology/approach: The authors use Chinese high-tech enterprise identification policy (HTEP) as a natural experimental group to test policy impacts, spillover effects and mechanisms of action. Findings: First, HTEP promotes exploratory innovation. In addition, HTEP has a greater impact on non-exploratory innovation. Second, HTEP has spillover effects in two phases: HTEP (2008) and the 2016 policy reform. HTEP affects exploratory innovation in nearby non-high-tech firms, and the policy effect decreases monotonically with increasing distance from the treatment group. Third, HTEP affects innovation capacity through financing constraints, technical personnel flow and knowledge flow, which explains not only policy effects but also spillover effects. Fourth, the analysis of policy heterogeneity shows that the 2016 policy reforms reinforce the positive effect of HTEP (2008). By deducting the effects of other policies, the HTEP effect is found to be less volatile. In terms of the continuity of policy identification, continuous uninterrupted identification has a crucial impact on the improvement of firms' innovation capacity compared to repeated certification and certification expiration. Finally, HTEP has a crowding-out effect in state-owned enterprises and large firms' innovation. Originality/value: This paper contributes to the existing literature in several ways. First, the authors enrich the literature on industrial policy through exploratory innovation research. While previous studies have focused on R&D investment and patents (Dai and Wang, 2019), exploratory innovation helps firms break away from the inherent knowledge mindset and achieve sustainable innovation. Second, few studies have explored the characteristics of industrial policies. In this paper, the authors subdivide the sample into repeated certification, continuous certification and certification expiration according to high-tech enterprise identification. In addition, the authors compare the differences in policy implementation effects between the 2016 policy reform and the 2008 policy to provide new directions for business managers and policy makers. Third, innovation factors guided by industrial policies may cluster in specific regions, which in turn manifest externalities. This is when the policy spillover effect is worth considering. This paper fills a gap in the industrial policy literature by examining the spillover effects. Finally, this paper also explores the mechanisms of policy effects from three perspectives: financing constraints, technician mobility and knowledge mobility, which can affect not only the innovation of beneficiary firms directly but also indirectly the innovation of neighboring non-beneficiary firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: At present, the scale of China's floating population has reached 376 million people. Compared with the local inhabitants, the poverty problem of the floating population is more complex, and this problem should also attract the attention of all sectors of society. This paper aims to measure and analyze the multidimensional poverty of the floating population in China. Design/methodology/approach: The data used in this paper are the data of the China Migrants Dynamic Survey (CMDS) in China. This survey is a large-scale national migratory population sampling survey organized by the China National Health Commission, covering 31 provinces (autonomous regions and cities) and other autonomous regions. This paper uses the dynamic monitoring and Alkire and Foster (A-F) method to study the multidimensional poverty problem of the floating population. Findings: This study finds that income poverty is no longer the main type of poverty faced by the floating population. The multidimensional poverty of the floating population mainly occurs in the social security and education dimensions, of which social security has become the most severe poverty dimension of the floating population. From the perspective of group differences, compared with the floating population in urban areas, the multidimensional poverty of migrant workers is more serious. However, the poverty of migrant workers is mainly concentrated in one-dimensional poverty and two-dimensional poverty. Social implications: In the future, the authors should focus on the social security of the floating population in the place of influx and the education of the floating population. Originality/value: Through the review of the existing literature, the authors find that the current research on the multidimensional poverty of the floating population is mainly concentrated on the migrant worker groups that move from rural areas to urban areas. However, insufficient attention is paid to the urban floating population groups moving between cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Since 2017, China's digital economy has accounted for more than 30% of the country's GDP. The digital economy has become the main driving force of China's economic development. Moreover, the digital economy has also changed the traditional modes of production and distribution between urban and rural areas. This paper aims to explore the influential mechanism of digital economy infrastructure (DEI) on the urban-rural income gap (URIG). Design/methodology/approach: By analyzing the theoretical model of the URIG, this paper constructs a theoretical analysis framework and clarifies the key roles of rural land circulation (RLC) and resident population urbanization (RPU) in the relationship between DEI and the URIG. Findings: The DEI can effectively reduce the URIG; the regression coefficient (RC) was −0.109. The reduction effect is mainly reflected in: 1) the wage income gap between urban and rural residents (RC = −0.128) and 2) the net property income gap of urban and rural residents (RC = −0.321). Also, for the spatial spillover effect, the path effect of "DEI – RLC – URIG" is almost equal to the path effect of "DEI – RPU – URIG"; for the local effect, the path effect of the former is far smaller than the latter. Moreover, when the RPU reaches the threshold of 86.29%, the DEI will expand the URIG (RC = 0.201). Originality/value: This paper proposes a theoretical framework for the impact of DEI on the URIG, explores the mechanism of RLC and RPU in the DEI and URIG and enriches the theory of traditional research on URIG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In this paper, the complex flow evaporation process of droplet impact on the liquid film in a horizontal falling film evaporator is numerically studied based on smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method. The purpose of this paper is to present the mechanism of the water treatment problem of the falling film evaporation for the high salinity mine water in Xinjiang region of China. Design/methodology/approach: To effectively characterize the phase transition problem, the particle splitting and merging techniques are introduced. And the particle absorbing layer is proposed to improve the nonphysical aggregation phenomenon caused by the continuous splitting of gas phase particles. The multiresolution model and the artificial viscosity are adopted. Findings: The SPH model is validated qualitatively with experiment results and then applied to the evaporation of the droplet impact on the liquid film. It is shown that the larger single droplet initial velocity and the smaller single droplet initial temperature difference between the droplet and liquid film improve the liquid film evaporation. The heat transfer effect of a single droplet is preferable to that of multiple droplets. Originality/value: A multiphase SPH model for evaporation after the droplet impact on the liquid film is developed and validated. The effects of different factors on liquid film evaporation, including single droplet initial velocity, single droplet initial temperature and multiple droplets are investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to improve the offshore wind farm (OWF) site selection evaluation index system and establishes a decision-making model for OWF site selection. It is expected to provide helpful references for the progress of offshore wind power. Design/methodology/approach: Firstly, this paper establishes an evaluation criteria system for OWF site selection, considering six criteria (wind resource, environment, economic, technical, social and risk) and related subcriteria. Then, the Criteria Importance Though Intercrieria Correlation (CRITIC) method is introduced to figure out the weights of evaluation indexes. In addition, the cumulative prospect theory and technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (CPT-TOPSIS) method are employed to construct the OWF site selection decision-making model. Finally, taking the OWF site selection in China as an example, the effectiveness and robustness of the framework are verified by sensitivity analysis and comparative analysis. Findings: This study establishes the OWF site selection evaluation system and constructs a decision-making model under the spherical fuzzy environment. A case of China is employed to verify the effectiveness and feasibility of the model. Originality/value: In this paper, a new decision-making model is proposed for the first time, considering the ambiguity and uncertainty of information and the risk attitudes of decision-makers (DMs) in the decision-making process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to enhance the Global Projection Model (GPM) developed by the International Monetary Fund by constructing a GPM4 model that includes the United States of America, the Eurozone, Japan and China. Design/methodology/approach: This article introduces the United States of America, the Eurozone, Japan and China into a comprehensive global forecasting model, analyzing the impact of liquidity management in G3 economies on nine key macroeconomic variables in China. Findings: The findings reveal that the liquidity management strategies employed by major economies do exert a certain influence on China's major macroeconomic variables. Different types of liquidity shocks elicit varying effects. Monetary shocks exhibit the strongest instantaneous impact, while credit conditions and policy rate shocks contribute more significantly to China's long-term macroeconomic fluctuations. However, no single shock stands out as the dominant factor. Originality/value: This paper attempts to expand the GPM model developed by the International Monetary Fund and build a GPM4 model including China, the United States of America, the Eurozone and Japan. For the first time, the GPM model was used to analyze the spillover effects of liquidity management in major economies on China's macroeconomy and revealed the impact of non-price factors such as credit conditions on China's macroeconomic variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Under the influence of the digital economy, the digital transformation of manufacturing enterprises has attracted widespread attention from scholars at home and abroad due to its uniqueness and importance. However, the existing literature is still deficient in the inner mechanism of digital transformation and lacks research on the digital transformation process. Through in-depth interviews and rooted theory, this paper focuses on the key factors of digital development of manufacturing enterprises and constructs a model of the digital transformation process. Design/methodology/approach: This paper takes China's manufacturing enterprises as research projects. First, through a literature search, the authors proposed three key factors for constructing sustainable competitiveness from digital transformation, that is, core technology innovation, business model re-engineering and organizational structure optimization. Second, the authors adopted the grounded theory approach to identify three sustainable competitive factors of manufacturing enterprises resulting from digital transformation and constructed a theoretical model. Third, based on Chinese manufacturing enterprises data, the authors used an empirical study to validate the three influencing factors. Finally, the authors identified the inner mechanism of the digital transformation of enterprises and put forward suggestions for enterprises to maintain sustainable competitiveness. Findings: First, based on the existing literature, this paper identified the importance of digital transformation of manufacturing enterprises, and the essence of digital transformation of manufacturing companies was found to lie in the change in the combined effect of technological, market and organizational innovation. Second, based on the grounded theory, through in-depth interviews with manufacturing enterprises on digital transformation and open coding of interview transcripts, it was concluded that the key factors for the digital transformation manufacturing companies are core technology change, business model re-engineering and organizational structure optimization. Third, based on a dynamic perspective, the authors evaluated and validated digital transformation. The study found that manufacturing enterprises can improve their digital transformation capabilities through the trajectory of "core technology change – business model re-engineering – organizational structure optimization" to improve their sustainable competitive advantage. Originality/value: Firstly, this study proposed three key factors for constructing sustainable competitiveness from digital transformation, that is, core technology innovation, business model re-engineering and organizational structure optimization, which enriched the theory of transformation and upgrading. Secondly, this study constructs the structural equation model of digital transformation and discovers the key factors pf digital transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper investigates how the gap between the host country's actual and optimal financial conditions affects foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows through evidence from China. Design/methodology/approach: The authors first employ principal component analysis (PCA) to measure FDI target countries' actual financial conditions and use 30 OECD countries as a reference group to assess the optimal financial condition. The authors then estimate a two-way fixed effect model with panel data of China's outward FDI in 64 countries for the period 2003–2017 to get the regression results. The authors' results overcome endogeneity and are robust. Findings: Results show that (1) the gaps between host countries' actual and optimal financial conditions positively affect FDI inflows from China; (2) there is a heterogeneous effect between low-income and high-income countries. The gaps for high-income countries significantly increase FDI inflows from China, while the gaps are not significant for low-income countries. Research limitations/implications: The authors examine how the gap affects FDI inflows from China. An increase of 1% in the target country's gap promotes a 6.3% increase in FDI inflows. However, the authors do not explore what mechanisms are key to these results. The authors will explore these questions in the future. Originality/value: This paper complements the influence factors of FDI and enriches theories of FDI. The gap between actual and optimal financial conditions plays an essential role in FDI flows across countries for policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study intends to explore the relationship between digital finance and the vertical specialization of firms. The following questions are discussed: (1) As a representative new financial development model, what is the role of digital finance in the vertical specialization of firms? (2) If digital finance improves the level of vertical specialization of firms, what is the mechanism behind such improvement? (3) How does digital finance impact the vertical specialization of firms in different regions, industries, and firms? Design/methodology/approach: A two-way fixed-effect model of panel data is proposed to verify the relationship between digital finance and the vertical specialization of firms. This model is constructed by matching the city-level data of digital finance with the data of China's A-share listed companies from 2011 to 2018. Meanwhile, the instrumental variable (IV) method and difference-in-difference (DID) method are adopted to deal with the endogeneity problem of the model. Findings: The authors' study finds that digital finance has significantly improved the level of vertical specialization of firms. The result is robust under the endogeneity consideration and a series of robustness tests. After the dimensionality of the index is reduced, the depth of digital finance usage is more conducive to the improvement of the vertical specialization of firms compared with the width of digital finance coverage and the level of financial digitization. Digital finance mainly improves the level of vertical specialization of firms by reducing transaction costs and increasing the market thickness of the intermediate products. Moreover, digital finance has certain heterogeneity in promoting the vertical specialization of firms, an effect that is more significant in the eastern region, manufacturing industry and state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Research limitations/implications: The first limitation is the mechanism test. This research only analyzes the mechanism from transaction cost and the market thickness of the intermediate products. With the rapid development of information technology, digital finance will be further integrated into people's production and life. There will then be more mechanisms that should be explored between digital finance and the vertical specialization of firms. Another limitation is the data sample of this paper. The conclusions of this research are based only on the data of listed companies. However, in the authors' opinion, the specialization level of small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) should be higher. Therefore, the conclusions of this work are underestimated, which can be considered as the lower limit of digital finance for enterprise specialization. Social implications: As a favorable financing channel to supplement traditional financial service functions, digital finance plays a critical role in the operating efficiency of enterprises and the effective allocation of macro resources. The authors' research shows that digital finance has significantly improved the vertical specialization of firms. This conclusion provides guides to improve the production efficiency of enterprises and the quality of economic development. Originality/value: This paper has three main contributions. (1) The relationship between financial development and the vertical specialization of firms is innovatively discussed from the perspective of digital finance, which implies that digital finance can effectively promote the level of vertical specialization of firms. (2) This paper provides new perspectives and ideas to reveal the impact mechanism of digital finance on the real economy by systematically analyzing the mechanism of digital finance on the vertical specialization of firms from the perspectives of transaction costs and financing constraints. (3) The regional differences in the development of digital finance, industry differences in the vertical specialization of firms and differences in the nature of enterprise property rights are all under consideration, which improves the effectiveness and pertinence of digital finance in promoting the vertical specialization of firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study empirically investigates the impact of directors' and officers' liability insurance on corporate environmental investment. Design/methodology/approach: This paper takes A-share listed firms in the most polluting industries from 2013 to 2019 as the research sample. The authors perform multiple regression analysis to examine the research question, and other approaches such as PSM and Heckman two-stage model are applied to test the robustness of the main results. Findings: The authors find that D&O insurance insured firms significantly decrease the level of corporate environmental investment. The results keep consistent after alleviating potential endogenous concerns. Further analysis shows that the negative association between D&O insurance and environmental investment is more pronounced in firms facing greater environmental pressure and stronger market supervision, and firms located in regions with a rich legal environment. Research limitations/implications: This research extends the literature on the antecedents of corporate environmental investment and the consequences of D&O insurance. Practical implications: The study may deepen people's understanding of D&O insurance and inform them of its negative effects. This research sheds light on the potential factor resulting in a relatively low level of corporate environmental investment in China, which has an important policy implication for government to carry out some regulations to make a difference. Originality/value: Against the backdrop that more importance has been attached to environmental protection globally, this paper is the first study to examine the impact of D&O insurance on corporate environmental investment in the context of the transitional and emerging market-China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indonesian billionaire Sukanto Tanoto's Royal Golden Eagle is doubling down its investments in China with plans to build a $1.5 billion fiber manufacturing facility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recent study conducted by researchers at the Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Chengdu, China, analyzed the research status and trends in the field of metformin and gut microbiota. The study used bibliometric tools to analyze publications from 2012 to 2022 and found that the number of research articles on this topic has been increasing annually. The study included 517 papers from 57 countries and identified China as the leading country in terms of publications. The most influential institution was the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the most popular journal was PLOS ONE. The study also highlighted emerging topics such as "metabolites," "aging," and "intestinal barrier." The researchers concluded that their study provides new research topics and trends for studying the effects of metformin on gut microbiota in different diseases. [Extracted from the article]

Introduced in April 2022, China's "Global Security Initiative" is now two years old. This essay takes stock of the GSI's development since its introduction, examining and assessing how the GSI's content has been fleshed out, how it has been received by other states, and how its implementation has progressed. To date, the GSI's content remains vague and broad, most likely to increase support, pursue opportunistic implementation, and discredit the United States as a security actor. Formal support from other states, as reflected in including the GSI in joint documents, is limited. The GSI's implementation has been uneven, especially in Asia, with few regional organizations offering unqualified support and or pursuing cooperation under the banner of the initiative. Looking ahead, the prospects for the GSI and its implementation are mixed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's leadership has modified the military's formal role in national strategy, which is known as its "historic missions." The change reflects an appreciation of both the opportunities and the perils posed by China's rise as a great power as well as by anxiety about the intensifying domestic political vulnerabilities that stem from economic deceleration and persistent official malfeasance. Paradoxically, the government's expanded view of national security has meant a diminution in the role of the military in security policy toward one of "strategic support." As non-military threats intensify, the role of the People's Liberation Army in national strategy will likely focus on modernization and assistance to non-military efforts to protect an expanding array of interests along China's periphery and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The behavior of the entities in a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) cooperation network is influenced by the core enterprise. Addressing the problem of how the network vulnerability changes when the core enterprise is attacked is a challenging topic. The purpose of this paper is to reveal the failure process of SME cooperation networks caused by the failure of the core SME from the perspective of cascading failure. Design/methodology/approach: According to the Torch High Technology Industry Development Center, Ministry of Science & Technology in China, 296 SMEs in Jiangsu province were used to construct an SME cooperation network of technology-based SMEs and an under-loading cascading failure model. The weight-based attack strategy was selected to mimic a deliberate node attack and was used to analyze the vulnerability of the SME cooperation network. Findings: Some important conclusions are obtained from the simulation analysis: (1) The minimum boundary of node enterprises has a negative relationship with networks' invulnerability, while the breakdown probability has an inverted-U relationship with networks' invulnerability. (2) The combined effect of minimum boundary and breakdown probability indicates that the vulnerability of networks is mainly determined by the breakdown probability; while, minimum boundary helps prevent cascading failure occur. Furthermore, according to the case study, adapting capital needs and resilience in the cooperation network is the core problem in improving the robustness of SME cooperation networks. Originality/value: This research proposed an under-loading cascading failure model to investigate the under-loading failure process caused by the shortage of resources when the core enterprise fails or withdraws from the SME cooperation network. Two key parameters in the proposed model—minimum capacity and breakdown probability—could serve as a guide for research on the vulnerability of SME cooperation networks. Additionally, practical meanings for each parameter in the proposed model are given, to suggest novel insights regarding network protection to facilitate the robustness and vulnerability in real SME cooperation networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the factors affecting urban economic development in emerging economic market countries and to provide a new research perspective on urban skyscraper construction. Design/methodology/approach: An empirical analysis based on a difference-in-differences (DID) model is conducted using data of urban data in China that expand into developed markets from 2003 to 2018. Findings: The results of the spatial heterogeneity test indicate that the construction of skyscrapers has a significant promotional effect on the eastern city's economy. In contrast, it has a significant inhibitory effect in the central and western regions. Further findings demonstrate that the construction of skyscrapers can influence urban economic development by promoting industrial agglomeration, especially when the transmission effect of the diversified accumulation of tertiary industry is more prominent. The expansion analysis shows that skyscrapers have increased the level of trade in the city, and the impact on trade has an optimal height. Research limitations/implications: This paper focuses on the economic and trade effects of skyscrapers, and the optimal height of skyscrapers needs to be discussed in more depth, which is also the next problem the researchers need to study. Practical implications: The government should attach importance to and promote the construction of urban skyscrapers, and do a good job in overall planning and design. The city should formulate preferential policies in land, taxation, finance, system and other aspects to increase support for urban skyscraper construction and promote local economic development. Originality/value: This study focuses on the impact of urban skyscraper construction on the economic and trade development of cities in developing countries, which not only complements the relevant research on the economic effects of urban skyscraper construction, but also helps to provide reference for the sustainable development of urbanization in many developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: High-quality labor supply is inevitable to maintain sustainable and steady economic growth. This study mainly explores the impact of the social pension system on the health of human capital, and further explores its impact mechanism. Design/methodology/approach: On the basis of the data from China Family Panel Studies from 2012 to 2018, this article uses the fixed effect model and the mediation effect model to empirically study the influence of the social pension scheme on the health of human capital and further explore its influence mechanism. Findings: This study shows that the social pension scheme can significantly improve the physical and mental health of laborers, especially for low-income and agricultural groups. The implementation of the social pension scheme contributes to increasing medical services and reducing the labor supply for the benefit of human health capital. Therefore, the government should continue to expand the coverage of the social pension scheme and comprehensively improve the importance of human health capital on economic growth. Practical implications: Medical costs and labor supply play a mediating effect in the relationship between social pension and rural labors' health status, which indicates that medical costs and labor supply level are still important factors affecting the health status of rural labor. There are essential factors affecting the health status of the rural labor force, and their role should be given more consideration in the process of system design and improvement. Originality/value: The existing studies have more frequently studied the effect of the implementation of social pension schemes from the perspective of economic performance, but this paper evaluates the policy effect of social pension schemes based on the perspective of health human capital, which enriches research on health performance in related fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Through this study, the aim is to provide reference for the improvement of CEO related theories, the reform of internal governance mechanisms and compensation systems in enterprises, and ultimately contribute to economic and social development and the achievement of dual carbon goals. Design/methodology/approach: In the context of accelerating the implementation of the "dual carbon" goal and promoting sustainable economic and social development, this paper builds a panel data model based on the panel data of 31 provinces in China from 2011 to 2019 to empirically test the impact of CEO stability on green innovation and total factor productivity of enterprises. Findings: The results show that CEO stability has a positive role in promoting enterprise total factor productivity and green innovation and enterprise green innovation also has a positive role in promoting total factor productivity; Heterogeneity testing found that CEO stability has no significant impact on green innovation in state-owned enterprises. Corporate green innovation has a partial mesomeric effect between CEO stability and total factor productivity; The proportion of independent directors has a negative moderating effect on CEO stability and corporate green innovation, while equity incentive has a positive moderating effect on the relationship between CEO stability, corporate total factor productivity and green innovation. Originality/value: First, it develops the research on CEO stability and its economic consequences. Second, it expands the impact of CEO stability on heterogeneous enterprises. Third, provides new ideas for the reform of internal governance mechanism and salary system of enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Minimizing the impact on the surrounding environment and maximizing the use of production raw materials while ensuring that the relevant processes and services can be delivered within the specified time are the contents of enterprise supply chain management in the green financial system. Design/methodology/approach: With the continuous development of China's economy and the continuous deepening of the concept of sustainable development, how to further upgrade the enterprise supply chain management is an urgent need to solve. How to maximize the utilization of resources in the supply chain needs to be realized from the whole process of raw material purchase, transportation and processing. Findings: It was proved that digital twin technology had a partial intermediary role in the role of supply chain big data analysis capability on corporate finance, market, operation and other performance. Originality/value: This paper focused on describing how digital twin technology could be applied to big data analysis of enterprise supply chain under the green financial system and proved its usability through experiments. The experimental results showed that the indirect effect of the path big data analysis capability digital twin technology enterprise financial performance was 0.378. The indirect effect of the path big data analysis capability digital twin technology enterprise market performance was 0.341. The indirect effect of the path big data analysis capability digital twin technology enterprise operational performance was 0.374. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The demand for the cold chain logistics of agricultural products was investigated through demand forecasting; targeted suggestions and countermeasures are provided. This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned statement. Design/methodology/approach: A Markov-optimised mean GM (1, 1) model is proposed to forecast the demand for the cold chain logistics of agricultural products. The mean GM (1, 1) model was used to forecast the demand trend, and the Markov chain model was used for optimisation. Considering Guangxi province as an example, the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method were verified, and relevant suggestions are made. Findings: Compared with other models, the Markov-optimised mean GM (1, 1) model can more effectively forecast the demand for the cold chain logistics of agricultural products, is closer to the actual value and has better accuracy and minor error. It shows that the demand forecast can provide specific suggestions and theoretical support for the development of cold chain logistics. Originality/value: This study evaluated the development trend of the cold chain logistics of agricultural products based on the research horizon of demand forecasting for cold chain logistics. A Markov-optimised mean GM (1, 1) model is proposed to overcome the problem of poor prediction for series with considerable fluctuation in the modelling process, and improve the prediction accuracy. It finds a breakthrough to promote the development of cold chain logistics through empirical analysis, and give relevant suggestions based on the obtained results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The stock indexes are an important issue for investors, and in this paper good trading strategies will be aimed to be adopted according to the accurate prediction of the stock indexes to chase high returns. Design/methodology/approach: To avoid the problem of insufficient financial data for daily stock indexes prediction during modeling, a data augmentation method based on time scale transformation (DATT) was introduced. After that, a new deep learning model which combined DATT and NGRU (DATT-nested gated recurrent units (NGRU)) was proposed for stock indexes prediction. The proposed models and their competitive models were used to test the stock indexes prediction and simulated trading in five stock markets of China and the United States. Findings: The experimental results demonstrated that both NGRU and DATT-NGRU outperformed the other recurrent neural network (RNN) models in the daily stock indexes prediction. Originality/value: A novel RNN with NGRU and data augmentation is proposed. It uses the nested structure to increase the depth of the deep learning model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recent study by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has found that the global economy is becoming divided between US- and China-centered blocs, although the level of fragmentation is less than during the Cold War. Trade flows between the two blocs have declined by about 12% more than trade within the same bloc since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Foreign direct investment projects have also fallen by around 20% more between blocs than within blocs. However, the decline in trade and investment is much smaller than during the Cold War, and many non-aligned economies are benefiting from their role as "connector" economies between the two blocs. The IMF warns that if geopolitical tensions persist and trade restrictive policies intensify, the level of fragmentation could worsen considerably. [Extracted from the article]

Pakistan and China have agreed to establish a Working Group (WG) on five new economic corridors as part of the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The corridors align with the 5Es framework developed by the Planning Ministry and include the Corridor of Job Creation, Corridor of Innovation, Corridor of Green Energy, and Inclusive Regional Development. The Planning Ministry and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of China will prepare separate concept papers for each corridor, which will be presented at an upcoming Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) meeting in 2024. The implementation of the 5Es framework has already begun, focusing on export, energy, equity, e-Pakistan, and the environment. [Extracted from the article]

CellOrigin Biotechnology has announced the treatment of the first patient in China with their CAR-macrophage therapy product (CAR-M) SY001. This marks the first investigator-initiated clinical study of CAR-M cell therapy in China. The treatment was well tolerated with no dose-limiting toxicity observed, and the company expects that this innovative product will prove its safety and effectiveness in clinical trials, offering new hope for the treatment of solid tumors. CellOrigin has also collaborated with Zhejiang University on research papers exploring the development of second-generation CAR-iMAC and targeted glycan degradation for solid tumors. They are conducting further pre-clinical and clinical studies to provide safe and effective treatment choices for patients. [Extracted from the article]

This paper provides a critical overview of China's strategy in the BRICS. In the wake of the expansion of the membership of the group with the inclusion of five new members --Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, UAE, and Egypt-- in January 2024, and the shifting regional and global geopolitical situations, China's objectives and strategies in the institution gain significance for understanding how China is crafting its strategy as a rising power. While the fluid geopolitical situation due to sluggish global economic recovery, flaring up of conflicts, namely the Israel-Hamas war, Russia-Ukraine war with global economic and geopolitical consequences, and rising tensions between China and the USA make the expanded BRICS geopolitically significant, these changes also bear upon the bilateral and regional dynamics of relationships among member states and the very role of the institution as such. In this respect, this essay answers the following questions: whether and how do these factors shape the group's identity and role? In this respect, the essay contextualizes China's strategy in the BRICS within its more extensive approach to multilateralism in the last two decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Early Devonian Xitun Vertebrate Fauna, represented by early members of crown sarcopterygians, such as Youngolepis, Diabolepis, Psarolepis, Achoania and Styloichthys, is mainly hosted in the Xitun Formation in the Qujing area, East Yunnan of China. Despite numerous research articles describing taxa from this famous Lochkovian fauna and its sedimentary and tectonic environments, there is no objective and coherent interpretation of the palaeoenvironment in which these early vertebrates lived. Based on detailed field geological investigation in recent years in the surrounding areas of Qujing City and measurements from the Xitun Formation section, this paper focuses on the analysis of some geochemistry indices of major, trace and rare earth elements to accurately elucidate the sedimentary environment of the Xitun Formation and deepen our understanding of the relationship between Early Devonian fishes and the environment. The analyses of the sensitive geochemistry indices of depositional and tectonic settings, sedimentary provenance, weathering, palaeoclimate, palaeosalinity and palaeoredox conditions indicate that the Lower Devonian Xitun Formation in East Yunnan was mainly deposited in a shallow marine setting with three phases of seawater–freshwater influx under a warm and humid climate, and a stable, oxygen-rich condition, which promoted the flourishing of Early Devonian marine fishes. Supplementary material: Data on the major (Table A), trace (Table B) and rare earth (Table C) elements are available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.7020642 Thematic collection: This article is part of the Chemical Evolution of the Mid-Paleozoic Earth System and Biotic Response collection available at: https://www.lyellcollection.org/topic/collections/chemical-evolution-of-the-mid-paleozoic-earth-system [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the decline in the number of international students studying in China, particularly from developed countries. The author highlights proposals made by Professor Jia Qingguo of Peking University to address this issue. Possible reasons for the decline include perception issues, limited employment opportunities, and concerns about academic research. Jia suggests measures such as clarifying the application of relevant laws and improving communication about China's policy intentions. The article concludes by questioning whether these proposals will effectively attract students from developed countries and how the relevant departments will respond to the issues raised. [Extracted from the article]

With manufacturing focused on multi-variety and small-batch intelligent production, the challenge is to guarantee and ensure good product quality. This paper proposes a novel small-batch product quality prediction approach considering complex interaction information. In this paper, first, to handle the complex nonlinear correlations among the manufacturing process variables, a kernel principal components analysis is used to extract the major features from the high-dimensional data. Second, we combine the discrete multivariate grey model and generalized discrete Choquet fuzzy integral to propose a discrete Choquet fuzzy grey model so as to capture the complex interaction information among the process variables. Next, an adjoint sensitivity analysis is applied to characterize the changes in the process variables on the predicted product quality index. We conduct an experiment on six semiconductor products made in China to validate the proposed model against a library of nine other methods. Our model yields an average reduction of 11.02% on MAPE, 20.47% on MSE, 13.56% on STD, and an average increase of 46.37% on EVS for six types of products. Our results inform that the proposed model is suitable for predicting manufacturing product quality when the process variables interact significantly, and we can prioritize the process variables for remedial action accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recent study conducted by researchers from Huzhou University in China explores the impact of migrant work experience on farmers' willingness to adopt new agricultural technologies. The study, based on data from the 2018 China Labor Force Dynamic Survey, found that migrant work experience significantly enhances farmers' willingness to adopt new agricultural technologies. This effect is more pronounced among male farmers, those born after 1980, and those with higher levels of education. The study also suggests actively guiding farmers with migrant work experience to adopt new agricultural technologies and encouraging return migrant labor to engage in agriculture again. [Extracted from the article]

A report from Shandong Normal University in China discusses how e-commerce can enhance the quality of China's agricultural exports. The study finds that e-commerce significantly promotes the quality of agricultural exports in all regions of China, particularly in densely populated and economically underdeveloped areas. The mechanism analysis reveals that e-commerce improves agricultural export quality by optimizing the agricultural industry chain, supply chain, and level of servicing. The research suggests that further investigation is needed to explore how e-commerce can help countries navigate global economic uncertainty. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the Yangwang U8 SUV, which is the most expensive mass-produced Chinese car ever built. Priced at £120,000, it features a range-extender powertrain with four electric motors and a petrol engine acting as a generator. Despite its impressive on-paper performance, the U8 feels slower than expected due to its heavy weight. The SUV also has a tank-turn function and a luxurious cabin. However, the article suggests that the UK market may not be ready for a car of this size and weight. [Extracted from the article]

China needs to reduce its holdings of US Treasuries to decrease Washington's potential leverage over the country, according to a paper published by a Chinese state think tank. The author argues that China's vast American assets are becoming "hostages" that hinder the protection of national sovereignty. The author also references historical examples of the US seizing foreign assets, suggesting that the US commitment to property rights and human rights protection is a myth. The author further contends that China no longer needs massive foreign reserves due to economic reforms and the shift from low-end to high-end manufacturing. [Extracted from the article]

This article provides an overview of research on dyslexia assessment and identification in China. The researchers from Yunnan Normal University highlight the impact of dyslexia on students' academic performance, self-esteem, mental health, social and emotional development, career, and life prospects. They emphasize the need for scientifically unified methods and tools for dyslexia assessment and identification in China to improve the discovery rate of dyslexic students. The paper aims to analyze the current status of dyslexia research in China and provide insights for future dyslexia assessment and identification. [Extracted from the article]

Pine wilt disease is one of the most serious forest pest and disease in China, which seriously influences the realization of the dual carbon goal. In this paper, considering susceptible longhorns and infected longhorns, we study a delayed reaction–diffusion pine wilt disease model both with memory diffusion and nonlocal effect. We analyze the dynamic properties for with and without memory diffusion and nonlocal effect, respectively. Especially, for this model, we find that memory diffusion plays a leading role in spatial dynamics. Memory diffusion can induce spatially inhomogeneous periodic solutions and steady-state solutions. Nonlocal effect mainly affects the amplitude and period of spatially inhomogeneous periodic solutions of the system. In addition, we give some biological explanations for the different phenomena in this paper. • Diffusive PWD model with memory diffusion and nonlocal effect is proposed. • Dynamics of the system with and without memory diffusion and nonlocal effect are compared. • Memory diffusion can induce spatially inhomogeneous periodic and steady-state solutions. • Nonlocal effect has impact on the amplitude and period of spatially inhomogeneous periodic solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learnable.ai, a startup based in Ningbo, China, is seeking to raise $70 million to develop AI technology that can automate the grading of China's annual college entrance exams, known as the "gaokao." The current system, which has remained largely unchanged since the 1950s, involves handwritten exams that are manually graded by thousands of evaluators, resulting in a lengthy waiting period for students. Learnable.ai's chairman, Guan Wang, believes that AI can significantly reduce the grading time to less than a day and improve accuracy compared to human evaluators. The startup has already received funding from Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li and is also working on a consumer app called Dakaotong, which aims to provide personalized feedback and exercises for K-12 students. The use of AI in education is seen as a potential disruptor that can help address the shortage of teachers in rural areas and provide inclusive education at a low cost. [Extracted from the article]

A recent study conducted at Hubei Maternal and Child Health Hospital in China explored the role of pyroptosis-related genes in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), a chronic inflammatory disease of the nose and upper respiratory tract. The researchers used a weighted co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) to identify gene modules related to CRS and intersected them with genes associated with pyroptosis. They found that hub genes CASP3, IL18, NAIP, NLRC4, and TP53 were directly or indirectly related to CRS and could serve as diagnostic biomarkers. The study provides valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms of CRS and offers a foundation for further research on biomarkers for diagnosis and treatment. [Extracted from the article]

Glaucoma is a common eye condition characterized by the loss of retinal ganglion cells and their axons, optic nerve damage, and visual field defects, which seriously affect a patientʼs quality of life. The pathogenesis of glaucoma is still unclear at present. It presents as damage to retinal ganglion cells, and the main treatment is primarily to reduce intraocular pressure by surgery or taking medication. However, even with well-controlled intraocular pressure, retinal ganglion cells still undergo degeneration, progressive apoptosis, and axonal loss. Therefore, protecting the optic nerve and inhibiting the apoptosis of retinal ganglion cells are the current hot topic for prevention and treatment of glaucoma. Recently, Erigeron breviscapus , originating from Yunnan province in China, has been shown to be a promising herb with neuroprotective effects to treat glaucoma. Therefore, the traditional usage, botanical characteristics, and phytochemical composition of E. breviscapus were explored through a literature review. Furthermore, we have summarized the pharmacological mechanisms of E. breviscapus and its active components in inhibiting the apoptosis of retinal ganglion cells. These research findings can not only provide guidance and recommendations for the protection of retinal ganglion cells but also further explore the potential of E. breviscapus in the treatment of glaucoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the controversy surrounding Minnesota Governor Tim Walz's connections with China amid his potential nomination as Kamala Harris's running mate. Topics include Republican skepticism about Walz's ties to China, the nuanced response from Democrats and the media regarding his views, and China's own portrayal of Walz in the context of US-China relations.

A study conducted by researchers at Xiamen University in China examines the impact of unconventional monetary policies on China's economic and financial cycle. The study finds that the US unconventional monetary policy, implemented after the global financial crisis in 2008, had a negative effect on China's inflation and output, while China's stock and commodity markets experienced short-term increases. The research suggests that China's monetary policy had a greater impact on the domestic economy and financial markets during the same period. The study's findings provide valuable insights for decision-making in response to the new wave of unconventional US monetary policies prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. [Extracted from the article]

China's central government has approved Shanghai's plan to build 29 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity, which will help the city meet Beijing's climate targets. Once completed, the project will provide Shanghai with over half of its annual power consumption in the form of clean electricity. China is a global leader in renewable energy, with its offshore wind capacity set to triple by 2030. The country's push for clean energy has led to fierce price competition among domestic manufacturers, making equipment cheaper and driving market demand. President Xi Jinping has pledged to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by 2060. [Extracted from the article]

A recent study conducted at Guangdong Ocean University in China explores the concept of social accessibility for gay men in mainland China using the locative media platform Blued. The study found that Blued, which combines physical and digital space, provides visibility and a sense of belonging for non-closeted gay men in a heteronormative urban space. However, users also face visibility asymmetries and risks. The research highlights the importance of new media and physical space in facilitating public interaction for marginalized groups in the city. [Extracted from the article]