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This paper examines the determinants of services trade in China with a panel of 42 trading partners during the period of 2000–2014. Using augmented Gravity model, the estimated results from Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood (PPML) show that the sectoral output of China and its trading partners, sharing of common borders, fixed telephone subscription in China, exchange rate, perception of lower corruption in partner countries contribute positively to services trade between China and its trading partners. On the contrary but not surprisingly, trade restrictiveness and distance between capitals of China and its trading partners are negatively associated with services trade between China and its counterparts. Greater availability and adoption of information and communication technology in partner countries, proxied by fixed telephone subscription, appear to have a negative (positive) effect on China's services exports (imports). On the policy front, this paper suggests that the Chinese government should devise policies to deal with non-tariff trade restrictions and improve the country's telecommunication infrastructure to address the services trade gaps with its trading partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As economic development advances, a country's service sector grows. With globalization, this growth is often accompanied by the growth of trade in services. China is a good example. After three decades of spectacular economic advance, its service trade is now one of the world's largest, but so is its service trade deficit. How did this come about, given China's competitive strength in the export of goods? Second, is this deficit a statistical anomaly, i.e. with China participating in global supply chains, how well do gross exports reflect the true value of China's service exports? Third, what is the real competitiveness of China's service exports? This study examines these questions by first reviewing the structure and trends in China's service trade using official statistics. It then re-estimates these exports using the "forward linkage value-added method" to compare with gross exports. The third question is addressed by calculating revealed comparative advantage (RCA) indexes based on gross as well as value-added service exports. Using 2000-2014 data, the results show that no matter which method is applied, China's service exports have weak comparative advantage but rising RCAs show China's competitive situation improving. Also, gross export values overestimate the RCA compared to value-added values. A number of policy implications arise from these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Layered transition metal oxides (Na x TMO 2 ) possess attractive features such as large specific capacity, high ionic conductivity, and a scalable synthesis process, making them a promising cathode candidate for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). However, Na x TMO 2 suffer from multiple phase transitions and Na + /vacancy ordering upon Na + insertion/extraction, which is detrimental to their electrochemical performance. Herein, we developed a novel cathode material that exhibits an abnormal P2-type structure at a stoichiometric content of Na up to 1. The cathode material delivers a reversible capacity of 108 mA h g -1 at 0.2C and 97 mA h g -1 at 2C, retaining a capacity retention of 76.15% after 200 cycles within 2.0-4.3 V. In situ diffraction studies demonstrated that this material exhibits an absolute solid-solution reaction with a low volume change of 0.8% during cycling. This near-zero-strain characteristic enables a highly stabilized crystal structure for Na + storage, contributing to a significant improvement in battery performance. Overall, this work presents a simple yet effective approach to realizing high Na content in P2-type layered oxides, offering new opportunities for high-performance SIB cathode materials., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)