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Instead of looking at the relationship between globalization and democratization from a social and institutional perspective, this article focuses on the moderating role of state capacities, which ...

This article explores the political attention of an authoritarian regime from a comparative perspective. Data from daily meetings of the Chinese Communist Party and the State Council from 2003 to 2...

Global warming and the rapid growth of carbon emissions have attracted the attention of governments and academia throughout the world. In 2006, China surpassed the United States as the emitter of the greatest volume of carbon, the largest contribution of which is derived from China&rsquo, s industrial sector. This study investigated the evolution of industrial carbon shadow prices (CSPs) in China at the provincial level to assess the opportunity costs in terms of value added foregone owing to decreasing carbon emissions. A dual formulation of the by-production data envelopment analysis (DEA) model was applied to estimate the industrial carbon abatement costs in China during 2003&ndash, 2017. This study represents the first attempt to apply the dual by-production DEA model for this purpose. Empirical results showed that industrial CSP increased by 3.83% annually and that the average provincial CSP was approximately $562.43 USD/ton. A significant upturn in the CSP occurred after 2006. Furthermore, disparities of changes in industrial CSP over time were checked using the test of sigma convergence. Regional divergence was observed for the period 2011&ndash, 2017. Policy implications were derived from the empirical results in terms of improvements regarding carbon abatement.

In a report that was presented to the 19th Communist Party of China (CPC) National Congress in October 2017, General Secretary Xi Jinping, on behalf of the 18th CPC Central Committee, stated that socialism with Chinese characteristics had entered a new era. Xi said that the course, theory, system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics would “extend the path of developing countries toward modernization, bring new choices to countries and nationalities that hope to accelerate development while retaining their independence, and contribute Chinese wisdom and programs to solving human problems” (from the report presented to the 19th CPC National Congress). That was the first time the CPC had made clear mention of the global impact of socialism with Chinese characteristics in a report to the National Congress. It was a profound acknowledgment of the importance of socialism with Chinese characteristics to all humanity, and it demonstrated the high level of confidence among Chinese communists.

As the world's largest carbon emitter, China has set stringent mitigation targets. The Five-Year-Plans have been an important administrative tool for China in climate change mitigation. However, the emissions transfer inside China has raised the problem of pollution haven affect and challenges to the effectiveness of the mitigation policies. This study examines whether mitigation policies can promote emissions reduction and whether it causes the pollution haven effect in China. It establishes an Extended Provincial Input-Output Model to calculate province production-based emissions, consumption-based emissions, and emissions transfer from 2005 to 2015. The results show that: (1) The mitigation policy is effective as a 1% increase of the completeness of the mitigation target is related to a 0.118% decrease of production-based emissions. (2) Stringent mitigation policies increase net emissions outflow as a 1% increase of the completeness of the target is related to an 18.5% increase of the net emissions transfer. (3) Subsequent policy enforcement will weaken once the mitigation goal is accomplished. This study reputes that the mitigation policy effectively controls emissions, especially production-based emissions, while it still needs refined policy designing considering the pollution haven effect inside China.

After the founding of New China, it was necessary to find an economic model that truly conformed to the basic national conditions and adapted to the various development stages. The relationship between the public ownership economy and the other economies had to be set. After 60 years of practice and repeated trial and error, a basic socialist economic system was created, with public ownership at the helm and diverse forms of ownership developing side by side. China’s basic economic system is unique in the world, and is a major string to the Party’s bow. Its advantages lie in giving full play to the respective advantages of diverse forms of ownership, and in fully mobilizing the creativity of each aspect. It is the world’s most dynamic and competitive economic system by far, but it has not been plain sailing.

As a huge country with a high population, a vast territory and imbalanced economic development across various regions, China has both the advantages and disadvantages of all large nations, particularly in terms of politics. This means that a careful balance between central and local relations is critical, especially under the governance of a single party. China deals with central-local relations using two initiatives, having learned that one initiative leads to improper handling. Mao Zedong believed that a combination of central and local initiatives was the key to success. In essence, this refers to the formation of a mechanism for incentive compatibility, through which each initiative can play its proper role, and national strength can be united to focus on state affairs.

On February 17, 2014, Xi Jinping delivered a speech (hereinafter referred to as the Speech) at the opening ceremony of a seminar at which provincial and ministerial-level leading cadres discussed the deepening of reform laid out in the Third Plenary Session of the Eighteenth Central Committee of the C.P.C.

The Decision of the Central Committee of the C.P.C. on Comprehensively Deepening Reform of Several Major Issues (hereinafter referred to as the Decision) made at the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the C.P.C. put forward a series of major theoretical perspectives and practical guidelines for deepening economic reform, based around the decisive role of the market in the allocation of resources. This augured a new era in China’s economic reform. Economic reform formed the basis of wider reforms.

On November 8, 2012, Hu Jintao issued a report at the 18th National Congress of the C.P.C. in which he emphasized the importance of the road ahead: ‘Forging an onward path is the lifeblood of the Party. It is the future and destiny of the nation, and is crucial to the wellbeing of the people.’

Against a backdrop of economic globalization, national competition is essentially a case of governing capacity, focused on national institutions. The general rule is that no progress or slow progress means regression. This can be called a ‘simple truth’, which Chinese leaders have grasped when faced with the issue of global competition. The Report to the 16th C.P.C. National Congress in 2002 highlighted the fact that no progress means regression.

First, the Third Plenary Session of the Eighteenth Central Committee of the C.P.C. was a milestone in China’s reform. Reform and Opening lasted 35 years in China. The Third Plenary Session became an important symbol of staged reform, reflecting the development and historical logic of Chinese reform itself. Xi Jinping said that since Reform and Opening, all topics discussed, all decisions made, all measures taken, and all signals released in previous third plenary sessions are the basis for judging the administrative policy and focus of the new leading group. They are great significant to completing the work of the next five or even 10 years.