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Highlights • Compares the innovation strategies of Chinese and European wind turbine firms based on patent-analysis. • European firms are stronger in most of strategic dimensions, while Chinese firms present strong learning capacity. • Chinese firms have limited opportunity to surpass European counterparts in the near future. Abstract Based on a patent-analysis method, this paper compares the firm-level technology pathways of wind turbine firms from China and Europe, and examines the firms' unique innovation strategies that may lead to these pathways being modified to capitalize on any opportunities that arise. This paper finds that Chinese firms have different firm-level pathways compared to their European counterparts, whereby they are influenced by different innovation strategies that involve technological foci, learning, and R&D collaboration, as well as globalization strategies. We find that European firms are stronger in most of these strategic dimensions, while Chinese firms demonstrate a strong learning capacity and customized innovations. We propose that there might be a limited divergence of the sector-level technological trajectories between China and Europe. In addition, we suggest that there is limited opportunity for Chinese firms to leapfrog with regard to the existing technology trajectories and surpass their European counterparts in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For several decades the leading wind energy nations were European, while China and India were mainly the recipients of technology transfer. This paper aims to explore the role technology transfer/cooperation from Europe played in shaping firm-level wind energy technologies in China and India and to discuss whether the recent technology cooperation between the Chinese, Indian, and European wind firms challenges the classical North–South technology cooperation paradigm. The research finds that firm-level technology transfer/cooperation shaped the leading wind energy technologies in China and to a lesser extent in India. The paper also finds that several trends towards South–North technology cooperation have been observed between China, India and Europe, such as South–North flows of capital, drivers for market access, and R&D leadership, while the origins of innovation (e.g. patents) seem to remain predominantly in the global North. The paper concludes that the technology cooperation between China, India, and Europe has become more multi-faceted and increasingly Southern-led. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Collected and consolidated a comprehensive set of supply and demand data from multiple data repositories, government agencies, freight carriers, research papers and reports, and text and oral communications with industry professionals for China-Europe containerized freight flows; • Constructed a multimodal freight transportation supernetwork for China-Europe containerized freight flows, including a liner shipping network run by all major liner shipping alliances, a freight rail network exclusively managed by the China Railway Express, and a domestic highway network in China and a multinational highway network in Europe; • Proposed and analyzed a multimodal multicommodity freight transportation network flow model with bottleneck congestion functions and service capacity constraints, in which the individual mode-route choice behavior is regulated by stochastic user equilibrium; • Developed, tested and analyzed a Lagrangian relaxation framework embedding a disaggregate simplicial decomposition algorithm for the developed multimodal multicommodity freight transportation network problem. As a traditional way for transporting containerized cargoes, international liner shipping has long played a dominant role in the China-Europe freight transportation market. In recent years, China Railway Express has offered a new and competitive freight transportation option, contributing to a significant increase in the trade volume by rail between China and Europe. With the goal of providing a holistic computational tool that can predict and analyze the spatial distribution of containerized freight flows and suggest strategic transportation infrastructure and service expansion options, this paper develops and implements a multimodal multicommodity freight transportation network equilibrium model, based on a newly constructed supernetwork integrating international liner shipping lines, international freight rail services, and international and domestic highway networks in relevant countries. The combined transportation mode-route choice behavior of individual shippers is characterized by the widely used multinomial logit model, where the values of time of different commodity categories are included in its utility functions. The congestion effects arising from bottleneck facilities along liner shipping and freight rail lines (i.e., seaports, water channels, and break-of-gauge stations) are first captured by queueing models and then approximated by polynomial delay functions, while the accommodation capacity of individual service lines is explicitly embedded into the model as hard constraints. This supernetwork equilibrium model is tackled by a subgradient algorithm in the Lagrangian relaxation framework embedding a disaggregate simplicial decomposition algorithm. Computational experiments are conducted with a multi-layer, hetero-structure set of supply and demand data collected from multiple data repositories, government agencies, freight carriers, and research papers and reports. The preliminary results exhibit the computational performance of the solution procedure and reveal the variation of congestion levels of bottleneck facilities, capacity usage profiles of service lines, and competitiveness conditions between liner shipping and freight rail services under different monthly demand patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A capacitated multigraph is presented that defines services (directed arcs) by transport mode, departure date, transit time, cost, distance and carbon emissions. • A Capacitated Multi-Commodity Flow Service Selection Problem is proposed to help shippers to choose transport mode, routes and the specific departure vehicle, train or ship. • This study analyses the regional patterns of CR Express versus maritime shipping under the dual impact of inventory cost and carbon emissions. • This paper provides some suggestions for shippers to route cargos, for operators to improve services and for government to determine carbon tariffs. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) entails investments to improve overland (rail) transport between Europe and China. This paper introduces a microscopic Multi-Commodity Flow Service Selection Problem for freight transport under the BRI and provides a decision tool for shippers to make door-to-door service plans. The minimizing objective function considers transportation costs, in-transit inventory costs, and carbon emissions. A series of sampled data of each provincial region of China are collected from Chinese multimodal transport operators. Results show that inland regions are strongly attracted to the rail mode for shipments to Europe. However, the "last mile" (including "first mile") transport from the shipper to the long-haul transport terminal strongly influences this choice, and carbon emissions are strongly influenced by the available last mile transport links. Under the dual impact of in-transit inventory and carbon emission costs, regions that prefer rail to maritime are much further east than suggested by previous literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land consolidation (LC), as an effective instrument to relieve rural land issues and promote rural sustainability, has already attracted the attention of the Chinese government and academia. Some Chinese scholars have proposed strategies to promote the development of LC by investigating cases in European countries and comparing them with that in China. However, the introduction of LC in Europe as a whole and China has not been done systematically from a comparative perspective. This paper aims to offer a broader view of the development of LC in China and Europe and identify points for improvement based on the current Chinese political system and European experience. Given the special sociocultural background of Europe, it has been divided into Central, Eastern Europe, and Western Europe in the comparison and analysis. The comparison of LC, therefore, was conducted from the aspects of historical background, political will, legislation, procedure, and public participation. This is the first attempt to compare LC between Europe as a whole and China in literature. It identifies reasons behind the differences between China and Europe, and considers possible lessons that China might learn from the experience of LC in Europe. Based on these, the paper puts forward some countermeasures and suggestions for the development of LC in China. • The approaches of land consolidation between China and Europe are compared. • The five elements cover politics and technical perspectives are included in the comparison. • The possible lessons to be learned for policy improvement are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution in the form of particulate matter (PM) is becoming one of the greatest current threats to human health on a global scale. This paper firstly presents a Bayesian space–time hierarch piecewise regression model (BSTHPRM) which can self-adaptively detect the transitions of local trends, accounting for spatial correlations. The spatiotemporal trends of the approximately anthropogenic PM 2.5 removed natural dust (PM 2.5_No Dust) concentrations and the corresponding population's PM 2.5_No Dust exposure (PPM 2.5 E) in the global continent from 1998 to 2016 were investigated by the presented BSTHPRM. The total areas of the high and higher PM 2.5_No Dust -polluted regions, whose spatial relative magnitude of PM 2.5_NoDust pollution to the global continental overall level was between 1.89 and 14.68, accounted for about 13.4% of the global land area, and the corresponding exposed populations accounted for 56.0% of the global total population. The spatial heterogeneity of the global PM 2.5_NoDust pollution increased generally from 1998 to 2016. The areas of hot, warm, and cold spots with increasing trends of PM 2.5_NoDust concentration initially contracted and then later expanded. The local trends of the global continental PM 2.5_NoDust concentrations and PPM 2.5 E can be parted into three changing stages, early, medium, and later stages, using the BSTHPRM. The area proportions of the regions experiencing a decreasing trend of PM 2.5_NoDust concentrations and PPM 2.5 E were greater in the medium stage than in the early and later stages. The local trends of PM 2.5_NoDust concentration and PPM 2.5 E in the two higher PM 2.5_NoDust polluted areas, northern India and eastern and southern China, increased in the early stage and then decreased in the medium stage. In the later stage (recent years), northern India displayed a stronger increasing trend; nevertheless, the follow-up decreasing trend still occurred in eastern and southern China. In the first two stages, more than half of the areas in Europe experienced a decreasing trend of PM 2.5_NoDust concentration and PPM 2.5 E; later, more than half of areas in Europe exhibited increasing trends in the later stage. North America and South America experienced a similar local trend of PPM 2.5 E to Europe. The PPM 2.5 E trend in Africa generally increased during the study period. • First presentation of a Bayesian space-time hierarchy piecewise regression model detecting self-adaptively transitions. • Firstly applies a developed Bayesian space-time model in investigating the global population's exposure to PM 2.5. • Deeply analyses the spatiotemporal trends of the global continental PM 2.5 pollution removed natural dust. • Details the spatiotemporal trends of the global population's exposure to anthropogenic PM 2.5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Middle Kingdom, as a relatively unknown advanced civilisation, held a unique position in Enlightenment thought, as Europeans tried to understand a widening world and their own place in it. European views of China in the early modern period have been widely studied. While the predominant paradigm has been to analyse a shift from sinophilia to sinophobia, disagreements over the extent, nature and timing of this shift suggest that the rigid juxtaposition may not always be useful. In order to highlight the importance of the particular topic to the constructions of China in eighteenth-century European thought, this paper examines the way primary sources and scholars viewed one particular aspect of China: Its system of government. This paper will consider views of China related to Adam Smith's main duties of government (the art and science of war, the administration of justice and public institutions) and how these duties were to be paid for (the public revenue). Discussions of China's government married interest in the advanced civilisation of China with that characteristic Enlightenment project to define, explain and reflect on the meaning of civilisation and progress. A surprising degree of consensus is found, calling into question the conventional juxtaposition of sinophilia and sinophobia. Moreover, eighteenth-century European observers did not approach China with assumptions of superiority; on the contrary, there was a degree of civilisational relativism in their outlook, and at times China was seen as offering useful lessons. This approach also allows us to consider those questions with which Enlightenment thinkers did not turn towards China for answers, and ask the reasons for such omissions. China was dismissed as a useful model because it was deemed in many ways to be a unique case that could not be worked into the universal models that characterised the European Enlightenment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The US and Europe have long experienced the expansion of low-cost carriers (LCCs) in the aftermath of extensive aviation liberalisation offering free access to the market for US and European airlines, respectively. More recently, following the opening of the progressive aviation market, China has also emerged as a country that welcomed LCCs to some extent, but has not subscribed to full liberalisation. In this context, our paper compares China's largest LCC, Spring Airlines, to the largest European (Ryanair and EasyJet) and US (Southwest and JetBlue) low-cost airlines. Comparisons in this context include volumes supplied, spatial coverage, network geography and financial results. This comparative study found that Spring Airlines is still a small/emerging LCC compared to the European and US giants and in terms of China's potential market. This is notably due to the lack of whole free access to the market and trunk routes that are still protected to some extent in favour of the Big Three in China. However, Spring uses its production means in an efficient way and generates good financial results, especially compared to those of China's Big Three airlines. Finally, Spring appears to be a composite case rather than a duplicate of a reference LCC. • Spring Airlines does not have the same freedoms that exist in fully liberalised markets • Spring Airlines is the largest Chinese low-cost airline but still smaller than its EU and US cousins • Spring's network is a composite case instead of a simple duplicate of leading EU or US low-cost airlines • Spring's network is not as compact and dense as the leading EU or US low cost airlines • Spring efficiently uses its production means and shows better financial results than China's Big Three airlines [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper aims to consider the total cost, including polluting environmental emissions, of imports from China to Europe of five valve components in aluminium, steel and iron. These are compared with locally produced alternatives to investigate whether internalising such external costs affects their price competitiveness. Seaborne trade represents 90% of international trade and is growing faster than the world’s economy, but marine pollution emissions are not reflected in market prices. Chinese aluminium, iron and steel production are about 2.5 times more polluting than their European counterparts, but this is also not reflected in prices. In this paper both types of extra emissions are calculated, valued and added to the cost of the components analysed, for comparison with locally produced alternatives. The locally produced components generally remain uncompetitive with Chinese imports for all likely values of external cost, except for heavy aluminium components under high external cost assumptions. The Chinese iron components analysed are simply too low in cost for European (in this case Spanish) equivalents to be competitive even allowing for environmental costs; while the stainless steel ones are so small and light that transport cost, even including externalities, is not significant. While these specific results are of limited generalizability, they provide insight into an issue of considerable and growing importance. Some suggestions are offered for further research. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Environmental and welfare implications of intermodal competition between the CR Express and maritime shipping are examined. • While increasing the welfare, CR Express increases emissions unless it is sufficiently emission efficient. • Such impacts are enhanced with more CR Express operators, or fewer shipping carriers. • The competition among Chinese local governments in supporting their own CR Express services also strengthens the impacts. • The analytical model is further calibrated with real market and operational data. China Railway Express (CR Express) has been fast developed, offering an alternative to transportation of the containerized cargo between China and Europe. This paper examines CO 2 emissions and social welfare implications of the intermodal competition between the emerging CR Express and incumbent maritime shipping. An analytical model is developed, which shows that the implications depend in general on the relative emission intensities of the two transport modes on a per-trip basis. The entry of CR Express and the resultant intermodal competition, while likely improving welfare, will increase emissions unless CR Express is sufficiently emission efficient. Such impacts on emissions and welfare are enhanced when there are more CR Express operators, or when there are fewer shipping carriers. The competition among Chinese local governments in supporting their own CR Express services also strengthens the impacts. The analytical model is further calibrated with real market and operational data on the route between China's Yangtze River Delta and Central Europe. Our numerical simulations show that intermodal competition leads to more emissions unless CR Express can achieve an approximately 90% reduction in emission intensity and that overall welfare is nonetheless improved. Policy and managerial implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Visions about the establishment of a lunar base and development of the Moon for scientific, technical and commercial ends have been on the political agenda since the beginning of the Space Age. In the past few years a number of spacefaring nations, including the USA, European states through ESA, Japan, India, China and Russia have proposed missions directed at the robotic and human exploration and development of the Moon. This paper argues that an important factor in advancing these missions lies in a partnership between the pubic, governmental sector and the private sector. The paper analyzes the dynamics of this partnership as applied to the case of the US Vision for Space Exploration. The results of the analysis suggest that public–private partnerships directed at lunar development and commerce depend on how government reduces risks for the private sector. The risks identified and discussed herein include political and legal risks, technological risks, and financial and market risks. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Urban forest modeling is increasingly popular, with an increase in case studies and journal articles in the last decades. • Extensive case studies from well-studied regions should be better summarized and generalized to support urban forest studies in less-studied regions. • We expect this field to continue to grow with an evolution of models which emphasize uncertainty assessment and spatially explicit simulations. • There is a need to expand the linkages of forest structure and function to better incorporate trees' social-psychological and health effects in models. Urban forest modeling is becoming increasingly complex, global, and transdisciplinary. Increased modeling of urban forest structure and function presents an urgent need for comparative studies to assess the similarities and differences between modeling techniques and applications. This paper provides a systematic review of 242 journal papers over the past two-decades, and identifies 476 case studies. We assess model case studies among different locations, units and scales, compare the ability and functional capacity of the models and different tools, compare papers published in different disciplines, and identify new emerging topics in the field of urban forest modeling. Conclusions from this analysis include: (1) the spatial distribution of case studies is primarily clustered around the US, Europe, and China, with the most popular units to model being streets and parks; (2) the most commonly used model types are the i-Tree toolset, ENVI-met, computational fluid dynamic models, and the Hedonic price model; (3) uncertainty assessment of urban forest models is limited; (4) spatially explicit models are critically important for estimating of ecosystem services as well as for environment management; (5) most case studies focus on biophysical benefits with few studies estimating economic and social benefits; and (6) linkages between urban forests and their social-psychological and health effects are less common due to subjectivity and uncertainty in expressing and quantifying human cultures, attitudes and behaviors. Based on a comparison of different models and a syntheses of case studies, we make suggestions for future research connecting urban forestry and urban ecosystems, model development, and ecosystem services. Such knowledge is critical for policy- and decision-makers, and can help improve urban forest planning, design and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

About two thousand species of plants are known in the world to yield natural fibers, but just a few are commercially important, providing nearly 90% of the global production of natural fibers. Since ancient times, humans required fiber to produce cordage, tools, clothes, nets, etc., in order to provide food and shelter. Among the most productive fiber plants, the bast fiber crops are undoubtedly considered as major contributors. The bast fibers are sclerenchyma fibers associated with the phloem of crops such as flax, hemp, kenaf, ramie, nettle, jute, etc. Currently, in both Europe and China, bast fibers are used for industrial applications in textile, construction, automotive, and other industries. Recently, bast fibers gained importance also as a renewable feedstock for the production of strong, lightweight, composite materials. However, there are factors in agro-industrial chain that limit the broad commercialization of these crops and their products. From an agronomical point of view, a part of the problems are associated with technological gaps in harvesting technologies, which impede the full exploitation of some crops. For instance, the production of high-quality fibers for textile firstly depends on the quality of the raw material, which in turn is linked, among the others, with the efficiency of the harvesting system adopted. In most cases, these systems were developed locally, based on available solutions in connection with specific local agricultural practice. The aim of this paper is to present a review of the existing mechanical harvesting systems for bast fiber crops in Europe and China, with special reference to hemp, flax, and kenaf. In addition, the work will furnish a description of the innovations that have been adopted in recent years to improve the harvesting processes in order to increase the value of these crops and their products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catchment/floodplain sediment geochemical datasets from three continental-scale geochemical projects in Australia (AU), China (CH) and Europe (EU) were studied by comparing sample media, sample preparation, elements determined, analytical methods, detection limits and proportions of reportable values, and certified reference materials used. Twenty six elements (Ba, Ce, Co, Cr, Cu, Mo, Nb, Ni, Pb, Rb, Sr, Th, V, Y, Zn, Zr, Al 2 O 3 , CaO, K 2 O, MgO, MnO, Na 2 O, P 2 O 5 , SiO 2 , Fe 2 O 3 (total), TiO 2 ) were considered comparable among the 35 determined by all three projects, according to the criteria for global comparability of elements proposed in this paper. The median concentrations of all elements (except Co, Y, Zr, SiO 2 and TiO 2 ) in the three datasets increase in the following order: AU < EU ≤ CH, and the median CH/EU ratios for all elements range from 0.98 to 1.94, while the median CH/AU and EU/AU ratios for elements, such as CaO, Na 2 O, MgO and Zn are generally greater than 2 (and up to 7), which could be explained partly by protracted weathering in Australia, and partly by the smaller grain size fraction analysed of the CH dataset (< 1 mm) compared to AU and EU (< 2 mm). In conclusion, a unified sample medium should be collected and unified sample preparation techniques should be followed. Key elements related to mineral resources and the environment should be determined and international or exchanged internal standard materials inserted in new national or global geochemical mapping projects in order to generate globally comparable datasets for establishing global geochemical baselines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper focuses on the application of various biomonitoring techniques in China. We report a study in the Pearl River Basin (Guangzhou) based on the application of diatom indices as well as a study on the waterways in Wuhan based on evaluation of toxicity (using phytotoxicity, Daphnia magna and Microtox™ tests) and the Extended Biotic Index (EBI). Regarding the diatom indices, acceptable results were obtained based on comparison of the chemical water quality level and the European and Japanese indices, despite a lack of taxonomic information. The toxicity tests applied to the Wuhan waterways (Yangtze and Han Rivers) produced interesting results and can be considered to represent a useful tool for water pollution control in this area. Application of the EBI in Wuhan produced results that were contradictory to the toxicological analyses, as there were no indications of toxicity, whereas EBI indicated poor water quality. It can be concluded that in principle, certain European biological indicators can be considered to represent feasible tools to be applied in China. However, further studies will have to be carried out to develop bioindices based on Chinese data sets. The use of bioindices based on macroinvertebrates is limited to less polluted and smaller rivers with a lithic river substratum, whereas diatom indices are also applicable under extreme conditions (e.g., under high pollution loads or in large river streams with sandy riverbed sediments through installing artificial substrates). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Exterior Insulated Finishing System (EIFS) was introduced into China in the early 1980''s. Since then, it has gone through several stages of development and is now enjoying the largest market share among all energy-efficient wall systems. The history of EIFS gradually becoming the most common energy-efficient exterior wall system is briefly reviewed. China has a series of EIFS-related codes and standards that can be divided into two categories: (1) codes and standards on building energy efficiency in general, (2) codes and standards specifically addressing EIFS. This paper reviews these codes and standards with a focus on the important regulations that are different from those in North America and Europe. Chinese EIFS has some features and problems that may or may not exist in its foreign counterparts. These features and problems, along with the underlying reasons, are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: For stimulating sustainable development in developing countries, land use patterns and land use changes are considered critical, and therefore effective and efficient land use policies are needed. In this paper we present a methodological framework that has been developed in a joint European and developing countries project (LUPIS – Land Use Policies and Sustainable Development in Developing Countries), to assess the impact of land use policies on sustainable development in developing countries. An illustrative application is presented for a case study in China, where water pollution due to agriculture in Taihu Basin is a major problem. We argue that an integrated assessment is required, considering multiple drivers and indicators that determine the objectives and constraints of the stakeholders involved. Therefore, the sustainability impact assessment (SIA) is based on the concept of Land Use Functions (LUFs), and impacts on these LUFs are discussed with stakeholders based on a multi-criteria analysis. LUFs comprise economic, environmental and social indicators relevant for stakeholders at multiple scales. Instead of focusing only on the indicators that determine the problem (e.g., nutrient leaching in the Chinese case study), we take a broader perspective (considering also social, economic and institutional objectives and constraints), such that feasible policy options can be recommended. Stakeholders have a large role in discussing the selection of indicators and policies (pre-modelling), evaluating the impacts on indicators (modelling), and the weighing of indicators and LUFs (post-modelling). For the assessment of impacts on indicators (modelling), quantitative and qualitative approaches are combined. We present and discuss an impact assessment of policy options in Taihu Basin, for the current situation and towards 2015. The methodological framework as presented here proved to be useful to guide a sustainability impact assessment in China and six other case study regions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper investigates the connectivity of the airport networks in China, Europe and US. Our aim is to analyze which network is most beneficial to final passengers in terms of travel time and which of the network features lead to such a result. A time-dependent minimum path approach is employed to calculate the minimum travel time between each pair of airports in the three networks, inclusive of flight times and waiting times in intermediate airports. We evaluate each fastest indirect connection in terms of waiting times and routing factors to consider the effect of the hubs’ coordination and locations. The Chinese network provides the quickest travels for passengers, but this performance is explained by a small number of airports per inhabitant. The US network is the most coordinated when considering indirect connections. The EU network provides the most homogeneous level of service when comparing airports of different sizes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Russia is a strategic partner for Europe, in particular in its space endeavour. However, in the past decade the Russian partner has significantly changed. Strengthened by a better economic situation, Russia is now reasserting strong ambitions, and its leadership aims to reaffirm the country''s position on the international scene. As a result, Russia''s international partnerships in the space field have evolved and the country has recently intensified relationships with China and India. This development has the potential to strongly impact Europe, its space activities and the relations between all those actors. This paper investigates the relations between Russia, India and China, their possible evolution and the consequences for Europe. It evaluates the potential impact on Europe''s space activities and on its cooperation with the Russian partner. It concludes with recommended actions to be taken by European decision-makers in order to maximise opportunities and minimise risks in this changing environment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The paper applies Wagner's Law of increasing state activity to illustrate the changing function of the state in China as a consequence of economic liberalization. Wagner's Law describes the association between increasing national wealth in progressive states and the rise in state activity and expenditure. This indicates that the causes of bureaucratic expansion are to be sought, not just in terms of political pressures, but the interplay between political considerations and the economic necessities, resulting from the emergence of new property rights. A simple illustrative model is developed to measure the effects of increasing national wealth and the growth of the public sector. This suggests that the patterns of economic development observed by Wagner in 19th century Europe are not unlike those observed in China today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to promote China's biogas industry development, this paper comprehensively compared the biogas status and related policies between China and Europe and tried to find the shortage and potential implications. China has access to abundant biomass resources, with considerable biogas potential and an annual theoretical output of 73.6 billion m3. Household-based biogas digesters coexist with medium and large-scale biogas plants (MLBPs) in China. Although the number of MLBPs in China was almost two times higher than Europe, the annul biogas production yield was only half of those in Europe. In China, biogas is mainly used for heating and cooking, and its power generation capacity is far lower than that in Europe. Overall, biogas industry is more commercialized in Europe than China. In terms of biogas related policies, China has an advantage in quantity, but is weak in their implementation. Biogas related policies in China mainly focus on agricultural and rural development, while in Europe, they are aimed at increasing the utilization of renewable energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, policies in China are mostly filled with encouragement, lacking detailed subsidy schemes and modes, whereas in European countries are more targeted and scientific. Based on the dissimilarity of current status and the disparity in policies, a series of countermeasures and suggestions for the development of the Chinese biogas industry are presented. • China's biomass sources have lower utilization rate compared to Europe. • Biogas industry in Europe is more industrialized and commercialized than in China. • The related-biogas policy framework of Europe is more mature and perfect. • European biogas policy provide valuable reference for China's biogas development. • China's biogas industry has great potential for development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper is a spatial (urban and territorial) approach to high speed rail implications for cities, with focus on recent research and developments. The current situation and future challenges of HSR in Europe are analyzed taking into consideration three main levels of analysis: inter-city relationships, wider spatial implications and the role of HSR stations. The paper reviews the different approaches in two world powers, China and USA, considering their HSR territorial strategies and station location rationale. This dual review, based on European territorial experience, is useful as a reflection on HSR developments in the near future. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Several types of reduced activation ferritic/martensitic (RAFM) steel have been developed over the past 30years in China, Europe, India, Japan, Russia and the USA for application in ITER test blanket modules (TBMs) and future fusion DEMO and power reactors. The progress has been particularly important during the past few years with evaluation of mechanical properties of these steels before and after irradiation and in contact with different cooling media. This paper presents recent RAFM steel results obtained in ITER partner countries in relation to different TBM and DEMO options. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]