Structure In China Research Articles

Structure innovation of agricultural supply chain in china: from farmers’ perspective

Abstract There are three serious problems in the traditional agricultural supply chain structure in China, namely, the blockage of information channels and the poor transmission of information, the subordination of farmers and the low distribution of network profits, the unstable contract and the loose supply chain. Among them, the first problem is the core problem. This paper attempts to design an innovative ASC structure to solve these problems. Firstly, from the perspective of farmers, this paper analyzes the agricultural sustainable development of network embedding, and draws the following conclusions: with the increase and deepening of farmers’ network embedding relationship, farmers can obtain more effective information about the whole agricultural sustainable development, and finally improve their profit distribution ratio. But how to increase this network embedding relationship? To solve this problem, we introduce the platform theory and consider redesigning ASC by embedding the integrated management information platform (IMIP). Then, we made a mathematical analysis. Through the comparison of absolute value and relative value, we find that the innovative structure can not only increase the amount of effective information that farmers get from ASC, but also increase the total amount of information from all stakeholders and the proportion of farmers’ information in the total amount of ASC information. In view of this, we believe that the innovative structure of ASC can effectively solve the problems existing in the traditional ASC structure.

Impact of internet economy on employment structure in China: a pilot study

With the rapid progress of internet economy in China, its effectt on employment structure deserves attention. Based on the previous theories, our study primarily redefined and selected the concepts of polarization, upgrade and the corresponding statistical index. We then focused on the changes of employment structures, and analyzed the intrinsic mechanism. Finally, we provided some reference suggestions on the government’s guidance and support, skill training and education reform.

Spatial association and identification of carbon neutrality in Chinese tourism, based on social network analysis

Achieving tourism carbon neutrality is essential for sustainable tourism development. This paper uses the coupled coordination distance model, modified gravity model and social network analysis to attempt to construct a nationwide tourism carbon neutral spatial network to clarify the role of each province in the process of achieving China’s tourism carbon neutrality. The results show that: (1) only seven provinces will achieve tourism carbon neutrality in the target year of carbon neutrality in China (2060). (2) From 2001 to 2060, most provinces are at the stage of coordinated development of tourism carbon emissions and tourism carbon sinks, but the degree of coordinated development is low. (3) The structure of China’s tourism carbon-neutral spatial network tends to be looser from 2001 to 2060. As the time series progresses, the role of each province in the spatial network will be gradually clarified. (4) In the process of achieving the goal of China’s tourism carbon neutrality, the number of tourism carbon sink input areas is much larger than that of tourism carbon sink output areas. Accordingly, this paper proposes countermeasures from three aspects: government-led, market system and voluntary mechanisms, in order to promote the achievement of China’s tourism carbon neutrality goal.

How Well Does 4‐km WRF Model Predict Three‐Dimensional Reflectivity Structure Over China as Compared to Radar Observations?

AbstractThe performance of 4‐km Weather Research and Forecasting model in predicting reflectivity structure in China over three summer months is investigated using three‐dimensional (3D) reflectivity observations. Three verification domains, namely Southern China (SC), Central and Eastern China , and North China, that correspond to the three major rainfall centers of mainland China are selected. Results show that the forecasts reproduce the distribution and diurnal variation of precipitation well, but significant differences exist in the vertical distributions of the predicted and observed reflectivities. In observations, the highest frequency (of reflectivity ≥35 dBZ) occurs between 3 and 6 km, whereas it is at the surface in the forecast. The forecasts tend to over‐predict reflectivity intensity at the lower levels, especially in SC. Further evaluation using object‐based verification methods show that the forecasts greatly underestimate the afternoon peak frequency of precipitation clouds with reflectivity >30 dBZ. The forecasts fail to reproduce the diurnal variation of 35 dBZ mean and maximum height of the objects, producing less variation than observations. Analyses show that the failure in properly reproducing small‐scale reflectivity objects (with diameter <100 km) is primarily responsible for the underestimation of the mean and maximum object heights. Evaluation using additional 3D information show that the forecasts tend to produce a greater proportion of faster‐moving small‐scale objects. This study reveals that the simulation of the 3D structure of precipitation clouds in terms of reflectivity remains a great challenge, especially for smaller convective cells.

Multilevel power structure and local compliance with government transparency mandates: evidence from China's environmental transparency reform

Despite the ample literature on government transparency, our knowledge about how the vertical power structure of governments shapes local compliance with government transparency mandates is still limited. This study sets out to address this gap. Specifically, we investigate how the central government's environmental information disclosure (EID) signal and provincial governments’ conflicting signal of economic growth affect, independently and interactively, city governments’ compliance with central EID mandates in the center-province-city hierarchical structure in China. We argue that the central EID signal positively affects city compliance, while the provincial signal of economic growth reduces it. Moreover, the provincial signal of economic growth negatively moderates the impact of the central EID signal. Empirically, with a panel dataset for city-level governments from 2008 to 2018, we found robust evidence strongly supporting our theoretical hypotheses. Points for practitioners This research reveals the influences of the complex dynamics among governments at different levels on local compliance with government transparency mandates. The findings suggest that the maneuvers of middle-level governments in a multilevel power structure and the interactions among multiple conflicting policy goals should be taken seriously by practitioners when designing policies to promote government transparency reforms.

Latitudinal gradients of angiosperm plant diversity and phylogenetic structure in China’s nature reserves

Latitudinal gradients of angiosperm plant diversity and phylogenetic structure in China’s nature reserves

The Allocation Change of Rural Land Consolidation Type Structure under the Influence Factors of Different Geographical and Economic Development of China.

Land consolidation structure reflects land consolidation function, and studies about its spatio-temporal change and driving mechanism can serve for regional management and control land consolidation. At present, the analysis of regional differences, time changes, and driving factors of land consolidation type structure change is relatively lacking. Based on the data of provincial acceptance projects from 2000 to 2014, this paper analyzes the spatio-temporal change of rural land consolidation type structure in China, discusses the impact of relevant policies, and identifies the socio-economic driving factors in key regions by employing correlation analysis and the PLSR (partial least squares regression) method. The results showed that from 2000 to 2014, the proportional increase of land arrangement in China was significantly correlated with the proportional decrease of land reclamation (R2 = 0.93), and the proportional decrease of land development (R2 = 0.99) showed an obvious co-evolution pattern of increase and decrease; TILC (The area of land development/The area of land arrangement) decreased from 2.14 to 0.91 in 2002-2003. Since 2003, the dominant type of land consolidation in China has gradually changed from land development to land arrangement. However, the proportion of land development in QT (Qinghai-Tibet), JY (Jin-Yu), and FGH (Fujian-Guangdong-Hainan) areas is still more than 40%; the change of land consolidation type structure was influenced by policies, social and economic factors, such as urbanization rate, fixed assets investment, industrial proportion, and population density, and the regional difference was significant: the eastern section (JZS, Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai) is the industry proportion, the central area (HHAJ, Hunan-Hubei-Anhui-Jiangxi) is grain production and fixed assets investment, the western region (NW, Northwest China) has the urbanization rate, grain production, population density, and fixed assets investment. Land consolidation structure should be configured differentially in each region based on the identification of regional function orientation and comprehensive consideration of regional resource endowment and development needs and directions to improve the efficiency of land consolidation.

Managerial and Engineering Solutions in the Contemporary Construction of China

Introduction. The construction industry trends are developing towards the growth of the share of unique buildings and structures. However finding the managerial and engineering solutions for implementation of such projects becomes a problem due to the lack of experience in construction of such facilities. This situation leads to the problems caused by the breach of the construction deadlines, increase of the project cost and deterioration of the quality of performed works. The purpose of this research was to study the contemporary construction experience of the People's Republic of China taking construction of a unique bridge structure as an example.Materials and Methods. The analysis methods were used in the research to analyse the information obtained in the frame of studying the organisation of construction of the bridge structure load-bearing part. Key points affecting the efficiency and quality of construction were highlighted.Results. As a result of the research it was determined that in construction of the unique facilities the primary attention should be paid to the construction preparation stage, including consideration of possibility of additional funding. The implementation of the project-based approach to the development of complex investment and construction projects is a prerequisite for the successful completion of construction. The introduction of a weekly-daily planning system allows monitoring and taking timely actions to eliminate the problems arising during construction. Training and retraining of management personnel and specialists allow making qualified decisions as the project progresses.Discussion and Conclusions. This study has not only theoretical but also practical significance. The methods and technical solutions accepted in construction of a unique bridge structure in China can be used in other regions of the PRC and in the Russian Federation. These approaches will help to successfully implement the complex investment and construction projects with proper quality, in due time and within the allocated budget.

Analysis on spatial effect of environmental regulation on upgrading of industrial structure in China.

Transformation and upgrading of industrial structure is the key link to achieve high-quality economic development in China. In recent years, China has begun to eliminate some industries with high energy consumption and high pollution through environmental regulation policies and promote transformation and upgrading the industrial structure. Under multiple pressures such as the shortage of industrial structure and the decline in the demographic dividend, environmental regulation as a binding force will have an significantimpact on ecological protection and economic structure adjustment. With the promotion of the inter-regional integration strategy, the links between various regions are becoming closer and closer. Therefore, the environmental regulation policies implemented by the government will not only affect the region, but canalso impactneighboring regions. So, how will environmental regulation affect the optimization of industrial structure in the local and surrounding areas and themechanism and pathways of its impact are theoretical topics worthy of in-depth study, which have important practical significance for exploring the win-win sustainable development path of industrial structure optimization and ecological protection. This paper selects the data of 30 provinces and cities in China from 2009 to 2019, analyses their spatial distribution characteristics, and establishes a spatial Dubin model to explore the spatial effect of environmental regulation intensity on the upgrading of local and adjacent regional industrial structure. The research results show that: (1) China's environmental regulation policy is not developed independently, but has certain relevance in space, that is, regions with higher environmental regulation intensity are adjacent to each other, and regions with lower environmental regulation are adjacent to each other; (2) The intensity of environmental regulation does not directly promote or inhibit the transformation and upgrading of the local industrial structure, but has a positive spatial spillover effect on the upgrading of the industrial structure in the surrounding areas; (3) The impact of environmental regulation policies on the upgrading of industrial structure is mainly reflected through indirect effects.

Study on the Occurrence Difference of Functional Groups in Coals with Different Metamorphic Degrees.

In order to quantitatively study the difference in occurrence content of functional groups in coals with different metamorphic degrees, the samples of long flame coal, coking coal, and anthracite of three different coal ranks were characterized by FTIR and the relative content of various functional groups in different coal ranks was obtained. The semi-quantitative structural parameters were calculated, and the evolution law of the chemical structure of the coal body was given. The results show that with the increase in the metamorphic degree, the substitution degree of hydrogen atoms on the benzene ring in the aromatic group increases with the increase in the vitrinite reflectance. With the increase in coal rank, the content of phenolic hydroxyl, carboxyl, carbonyl, and other active oxygen-containing groups gradually decreased, and the content of ether bonds gradually increased. Methyl content increased rapidly first and then increased slowly, methylene content increased slowly first and then decreased rapidly, and methylene content decreased first and then increased. With the increase in vitrinite reflectance, the OH-π hydrogen bond gradually increases, the content of hydroxyl self-association hydrogen bond first increases and then decreases, the oxygen-hydrogen bond of hydroxyl ether gradually increases, and the ring hydrogen bond first significantly decreases and then slowly increases. The content of the OH-N hydrogen bond is in direct proportion to the content of nitrogen in coal molecules. It can be seen from the semi-quantitative structural parameters that with the increase in coal rank, the aromatic carbon ratio fa, aromatic degree AR and condensation degree DOC increase gradually. With the increase in coal rank, A(CH2)/A(CH3) first decreases and then increases, hydrocarbon generation potential 'A' first increases and then decreases, maturity 'C' first decreases rapidly and then decreases slowly, and factor D gradually decreases. This paper is valuable for analyzing the occurrence form of functional groups in different coal ranks and clarifying the evolution process of structure in China.

Unconventional, conventional monetary policies, and optimal energy supply structure in China

This work quantifies the macroeconomic effects of an unconventional monetary policy–targeted refinancing, and a conventional monetary policy–general refinancing on the optimization of the energy supply structure using a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model. The results show that targeted refinancing exclusively increases bank loans to the green energy sector with lower interest rates, which promotes the energy transition. In contrast, with general refinancing, fossil energy loans increase significantly, leading to higher outputs, while green sector outputs are negatively impacted. Our findings provide novel evidence of the differential effects of unconventional and conventional monetary policies on the energy supply structure.

Mutual complementarity of arable land use in the Sino-Africa trade: Evidence from the global supply chain

This study targets participants of the Forum of China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and aims to comprehensively analyze the arable land use transfer between China and Africa. We apply the multiregional input-output analysis to assess embodied arable land use and depict multifaceted changes of arable land use transfer embodied in the Sino-Africa trade from 1990 to 2015. Results reveal that: (1) China is a net importer of embodied arable land use in the Sino-Africa trade to meet its expanding domestic consumptive demand; the arable land use transfer in the Sino-Africa trade is less than that in EU-Africa and US-Africa trade; (2) there is a decline in the arable land use intensities for both China and Africa and a sharp decrease in the gap between the two intensities since the establishment of FOCAC; (3) the textiles and manufacturing sectors are the two largest contributors to the arable land use transfer from China to Africa, whereas agriculture sector is the largest contributor from Africa to China; (4) the share of China’s arable land use originating from foreign regions increases from 2 % in 1990 to 23 % in 2015; approximately 40 % of arable land resources exploited locally in Africa are for final consumption abroad; China’s arable land use that originates from Africa grows at an average annual rate of 11 %. Our findings affirm the positive effects of the Sino-Africa trade on arable land reallocation, and lend support to optimizing the trade structure in China and Africa in order to maximize usage of arable land resources.

The Feasibility of Constructing a Greenhouse Gas Emission Assessment System in China and Its Legislative Path

In order to achieve the ambitious carbon peak and neutrality targets, China is in the process of revising Environmental Impact Assessment Law. This study is devoted to the proposition of how to incorporate activities regulating greenhouse gas emissions into the legal system of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). This study is inspired by the Embedding Theory, which provides the explanatory framework that allows economic activities to be regulated by political and social norms. This framework requires a relevance and cost analysis of the three indicators required to regulate economic activities: administrative support, technical support, and legal support. The results reveal that the structure of China’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions Assessment (GGEA) system and that of the EIA system are closely related and that the generation and transaction costs involved in the process of institution embedding are low. This result satisfies the requirements of the Embedding Theory for achieving institutional coupling. In conclusion, this study provides an outlook on the direction of the revision of China’s EIA Law from the perspective of building a rule of law pathway for GGEA with “4EM-3CS-3RC” as the core.

Renovation and upgrading of pension design based on China's national conditions

As China's aging population gradually grows and people's needs for life enjoyment increase, the planning and design of China's elderly care sector need to keep pace with the times. This paper reviews the problems of China's pension model and different pension institutions, and summarizes the possible improvement methods for these existing problems. First of all, the paper finds that among the several existing pension models in China, the elderly are gradually changing from home-based pensions to institutional pensions, and then the paper conducts an in-depth discussion on the operation methods and existing problems of different elderly institutions, such as nursing homes, elderly schools, elderly communities, etc. In addition, the more significant problems of Chinese elderly care institutions are backward equipment and facilities, inadequate management and operation, and insufficient attention to building design. In response to these problems, China should strengthen the research on the psychological needs of the elderly, improve their surrounding environment, and meet certain needs of the elderly through different design methods. Overall, the abnormal age structure in China determines that the society must strengthen the construction of the elderly care field. Only by thoroughly researching and understanding the characteristics, differences, and problems of China’s elderly care field can we be able to deal with the problems that are to come at this stage and in the future.

Carbon Footprint Prediction of Thermal Power Industry under the Dual-Carbon Target: A Case Study of Zhejiang Province, China

China is the world’s primary energy consumer. In order to address global warming, China has proposed a strategic goal of “reaching peak carbon and carbon neutrality”, which is related to a balance between human and natural life and has vital strategic significance for accelerating the construction of a sustainable society and achieving high-quality development. The energy sector is the main battlefield upon which the country will strive to achieve the “double carbon” goal, and power systems take the hierarchical first place in the current carbon emissions structure in China. Thermal power enterprises are facing severe challenges, such as low-carbon development, transformation, and upgrading. Therefore, it is crucial to study the thermal power industry’s carbon footprint. A scenario prediction method for estimating the carbon footprint of the thermal power industry in Zhejiang Province based on stacking integrated learning—i.e., the STIRPAT model—is proposed in this study. Using this model, to identify the main influencing factors, one can take the coefficient of determination (R2) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) as evaluation indicators, building a fusion advantage model to predict the carbon footprint. Four carbon peak action scenarios are set up to determine the thermal power industry’s carbon peak in 2021–2035, taking Zhejiang Province as an example. The findings indicate that the proposed method can accurately predict the carbon footprint of the thermal power industry, with the prediction coefficient (R2) being higher than 0.98 and the error (MAPE) being lower than 0.01. The carbon emission peaks of the thermal power industry under different carbon peak action scenarios are calculated, verifying that Zhejiang Province can reach the goal of a carbon peak; however, the low-carbon development model is too extreme and needs to be revised in combination with more reasonable improvement methods. Therefore, Zhejiang Province must be restructured industrially, the construction of high-tech industries must be encouraged, the energy consumption structure must be optimized, energy efficiency must be boosted, and energy use must be reduced. Relevant research offers a theoretical foundation and benchmark for China’s thermal power industry to promote industrial restructuring and low-carbon transformation by means of comprehensive governance.

The Impact of Foreign Direct Investment on the Forestry Industry Structure Upgrading: The Moderating Effect on Labor Migration.

This study examines the impact of foreign direct investment in forestry, a prominent phenomenon in China, on forestry industry structure upgrading, using comprehensive economic theory and the panel data of 27 provinces from 2003 to 2019 in China. We used fixed and moderating effect models, and regional heterogeneity tests were conducted. Our results indicate that, at the national level, foreign direct investment in forestry and labor migration promotes forestry industry structural upgrading. In addition, our results indicate that labor migration as a moderating variable weakly promotes forestry industry structural upgrading via foreign direct investment in forestry, and these effects have regional heterogeneity. Finally, different control variables also have influence on forestry industry structural upgrading, such as the number of forestry stations. Based on these empirical results, we provide an explanation and give policy implications, such as developing secondary and tertiary forestry industries, building forestry infrastructure, and improving the efficiency of forestry foreign investment utilization to promote the optimization of the forestry industry structure in China.

Influence of Financial Support to Agriculture on Carbon Emission Intensity of the Industry

Financial support to agriculture is an important means by which to support agricultural development. While promoting agricultural economic growth, it also has an influence on the agricultural production environment. In order to explore the sustainable development of the agricultural economy, based on the provincial panel data of 31 provinces in China from 2000 to 2020, this paper uses Geoda software to construct a spatial distance weight matrix and uses Stata software to establish a spatial Durbin model of random effects, and analyzes the influence of the level of financial support to agriculture on the intensity of agricultural carbon emission (ACE). The results show that the support level has a significant spatial spillover effect, and that every 1% increase in the support level will increase the carbon emission (CE) intensity of the province by 0.1357% and the CE intensity of neighboring provinces by 0.0714%. Based on this, this paper puts forward suggestions that the structure of China’s financial support to agriculture needs to be further optimized, and that it is necessary to use such support to coordinate emission reduction.

China’s process-related greenhouse gas emission dataset 1990–2020

China’s industrial process-related Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions are growing rapidly and are already equivalent to 13–19% of energy-related emissions in the past three decades. Previous studies mainly focused on emissions from fossil fuel combustion, however, there are a broad range of misconceptions regarding the trend and source of process-related emissions. To effectively implement emission reduction policies, it is necessary to compile an accurate accounting of process-related GHG emissions. However, the incompleteness in scope, unsuitable emission factor, and delay in updates in the current emission inventory have led to inaccurate emission estimates and inefficient mitigation actions. Following the methodology provided by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), we constructed a time series inventory of process-related GHG emissions for 15 industrial products from 1990–2020 in China. This emission inventory covers more than 90% of China’s process-related GHG emissions. In our study, emission factors were adjusted to refer to the industrial production process, technology, and raw material structure in China, which has led to increased accuracy of emission accounting. The dataset can help identify the sources of process-related GHG emissions in China and provide a data base for further policy implications.

Marine environmental pollution and offshore aquaculture structure: Evidence from China

The marine environment pollution is becoming an important factor that restricts the sustainable development of mariculture in China. This study takes 10 Chinese coastal provinces (cities) as the study area, based on the rationalization and upgrading dimensions of industrial structure, and innovatively constructs an analytical framework of marine environmental pollution and offshore aquaculture structure to identify the intrinsic relationship between them; and introduces a spatial econometric model to alleviate the estimation bias caused by the public goods attribute of marine environment and improve the reliability of research conclusions. The results show that: (1) The rationalization of the offshore aquaculture structure in China is relatively weak, showing a “concentrated and contiguous” distribution pattern towards the developed aquaculture areas; at the same time, but the differences between regions are expanding; (2) The rationalization and upgrading of the offshore aquaculture structure are affected by the pollution of the marine environment. The degree of upgrading shows different trends; (3) There is a significant spatial adjacency and threshold effect of the negative impact of marine environmental pollution on offshore farming structure. However, due to the limitations of data, the accuracy of our data and the effectiveness of the measurement of industrial structure indicators still need to be improved. Therefore, governmental departments should consider the development of the surrounding areas as well as the pollution emission in the region, and jointly promote the optimization and adjustment of China’s offshore aquaculture structure through the construction of a coordinated management mechanism of marine pollution prevention and treatment.

Rapid and large changes in coastal wetland structure in China's four major river deltas.

Coastal wetlandsprovide essential ecosystem goods and services but are extremely vulnerable to sea-level rise, extreme climate, and human activities, especially the coastal wetlands in large river deltas, which are regarded as "natural recorders" of changes in estuarine environments. In addition to the area (loss or gain) and quality (degradation or improvement) of coastal wetlands, the information on coastal wetland structure (e.g., patch size and number) are also major metrics for coastal restoration and biodiversity protection, but remain very limited in China's four major river deltas. In this study, we quantified the spatial-temporal dynamics of total area (TA) and patch number (PN) of coastal wetlands with different sizes in the four deltas and the protected areas (PAs) and assessed the effects of major driving factors during 1984-2020. We also investigated the effectiveness of PAs through the comparison of TA and PN of coastal wetlands before and after the years in which PAs were listed as Ramsar Sites. We found both TA and PN experienced substantial losses in the Liaohe River Delta and Yellow River Delta but recent recoveries in the Yangtze River Delta. The coastal wetlands had a relatively stable and variable trend in TA but had a continually increasing trend in PN in the Pearl River Delta. Furthermore, reduced coastal reclamation, ecological restoration projects, and rapid expansion of invasive plants had great impacts on the coastal wetland structure in various ways. We also found that PAs were effective in halting the decreasing trends in coastal wetland areas and slowing the expansion of reclamation, but the success of PAs is being counteracted by soaring exotic plant invasions. Our findings provide vital information for the government and the public to address increasing challenges of coastal restoration, management, and sustainability in large river deltas.