Economic Zones In China Research Articles

A study on the quantification and impact mechanism of regional ecological compensation based on revised carbon accounts: evidence from the Yellow River Basin economic zone in China

A study on the quantification and impact mechanism of regional ecological compensation based on revised carbon accounts: evidence from the Yellow River Basin economic zone in China

Assessing and gauging the carbon emission efficiency in China in accordance with the sustainable development goals

In light of the growing urgency of climate change, carbon emissions reduction has emerged as a pivotal concern within global governance. In this paper, we take carbon emission efficiency (CEE) as the research object to characterize the relationship between economic, social, and environmental development in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). According to the regional division standard of eight comprehensive economic zones in China, this paper analyzed the spatial differences, evolutionary characteristics, and influencing factors of CEE in 257 Chinese cities over the period 2003–2019. The analysis conducted the Dagum Gini Coefficient, Markov Transition Probability Matrix, and geographically and temporally weighted regression model (GTWR). The results demonstrate that: (1) The CEE of Chinese cities exhibits an upward trajectory. (2) The inter-differences among the eight comprehensive economic zones represent the primary spatial source of CEE divergence. (3) The CEE of Chinese cities is a staged process of gradual enhancement with spatial spillover effects. (4) Environmental regulation, energy consumption intensity, and green finances are significant factors affecting CEE, and the direction and intensity of their influence have distinct spatial heterogeneity. Ultimately, this paper proposes measures to narrow the development gap between regions and enhance the CEE across the region. Meanwhile, implementing regional refinement management and formulating differentiated regional sustainable development planning.

Analysis of Spatiotemporal Evolution and Driving Forces of Vegetation from 2001 to 2020: A Case Study of Shandong Province, China

As global climate change intensifies and human activities escalate, changes in vegetation cover, an important ecological indicator, hold significant implications for ecosystem protection and management. Shandong Province, a critical agricultural and economic zone in China, experiences vegetation changes that crucially affect regional climate regulation and biodiversity conservation. This study employed normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data, combined with climatic, topographic, and anthropogenic activity data, utilizing trend analysis methods, partial correlation analysis, and Geodetector to comprehensively analyze the spatiotemporal variations and primary driving factors of vegetation cover in Shandong Province from 2001 to 2020.The findings indicate an overall upward trend in vegetation cover, particularly in areas with concentrated human activities. Climatic factors, such as precipitation and temperature, exhibit a positive correlation with vegetation growth, while land use changes emerge as one of the key drivers influencing vegetation dynamics. Additionally, topography also impacts the spatial distribution of vegetation to a certain extent. This research provides a scientific basis for ecological protection and land management in Shandong Province and similar regions, supporting the formulation of effective vegetation restoration and ecological conservation strategies.

Comparative analysis of the economic effects of special economic zones in China and Korea: evidence from a PSM difference-in-difference method

ABSTRACT This paper examines the economic effects of the establishment of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) on the export of industrial complexes in China and Korea, focusing on the synergistic economic effects between different types of SEZs, using the Propensity Score Matching difference-in-difference method. We use panel data of 284 Chinese cities and 162 Korean cities between 2000 and 2019, focusing on 93 industrial complexes in China, and 569 industrial complexes in Korea. We compare the effects of Free Trade Zones (FTZs) with other special economic zones, including Bonded Areas (BA) in China and Free Economic Zones (FEZ) and Foreign Investment Regions (FIZ) in Korea. The establishment of SEZs has a significant positive impact on the export growth of industrial complexes in both China and Korea. In Korea, a significant synergy effect on export is found between the FTZ and the FIZs. There is no synergy effect found between FEZs and other economic zones. After the implementation of the FTZ policy in China, the export of BA’s industrial complexes with ports and airports significantly increased, indicating that the FTZs have a positive synergy effect on the BAs with convenient transportation.

Research on Legal Issues of Water Pollution Control in Cities in the Yangtze River Basin

As an important ecological barrier and economic zone in China, the Yangtze River Basin has increasingly highlighted the contradiction between the protection and exploitation of its water resources. With the acceleration of urbanization, the problem of urban water pollution has become one of the bottlenecks restricting the sustainable development of the Yangtze River Basin. As an important city along the Yangtze River, Anqing City has certain representativeness and typicality in its water pollution control work. Therefore, this paper chooses to take Anqing City as an example to conduct an in-depth study on the legal issues of urban water pollution control in the Yangtze River Basin.

A lost land of opportunity? The geography of intergenerational educational mobility in China

AbstractDespite the significant political, economic and geographical diversity in China, there is limited research on spatial differences in intergenerational mobility in China. This research aims to fill this gap by exploring the spatial and temporal dimensions of intergenerational educational mobility in China. The data used for the analysis is the 2010–2018 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), a nationally representative longitudinal general social survey. The analysis incorporates both relative and absolute mobility measures to provide a comprehensive description of intergenerational educational mobility. The results reveal substantial regional differences in intergenerational educational mobility across various economic zones in China, with a rising geographic inequality over time. The southwest and northeast regions stand out as the areas where the educational prospects of the young generation have become not only bleaker but dependent more on their parents. Additionally, this study presents the first education Great Gatsby Curve for China, highlighting the strong relationship between intergenerational mobility and education inequality at the regional level, particularly after China's market reform. The findings highlight the need for regionally targeted policies and levelling up agendas to promote educational opportunities in low‐mobility regions.

Evaluation of innovation primacy in cross-regional central cities: Evidence from the Huaihai Economic Zone in China (2010-2020).

With the intensification of global economic competition, innovation has become one of the core elements of vigorous development in various regions. Improving the innovation ability of cross-regional central cities is the main factor influencing whether a region can achieve economic and social development. In this paper, an innovation primacy index system is designed according to the links of the innovation value chain, and the innovation advantages and empirical effects are comprehensively analyzed by using the point-to-point method, entropy weight method, gravity model and two-way fixed effect model. Based on the data of 8 cities in the core area of the Huaihai Economic Zone from 2010 to 2020 in China, Xuzhou's innovation primacy ranks first in the core area of the Huaihai Economic Zone, which accords with its status as the central city of the region. Its index has been rising, and its development trend is also good. However, the overall innovation ability of the core area of the Huaihai Economic Zone is unbalanced; the overall economic foundation is not solid enough. In terms of knowledge innovation, R&D innovation and industrial innovation, the industrialization level, around the activation of Xuzhou city vitality, enhances the Xuzhou innovation radiation drive, leading to a decrease in the Huaihai Economic Zone. Finally, some corresponding suggestions on innovation primacy have been proposed for the city of the Huaihai Economic Zone.

Exploring the relationships between human consumption and environmental pressure: A case study of the Yangtze river economic zone in China.

It is crucial to decouple and coordinate human consumption and its environmental pressure for achieving sustainable development. As an important aspect of United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG12), sustainability on material consuming is still in its early stages of research. To address the research gap in sustainable consumption of vegetation net primary productivity (NPP), this study analyzed the spatio-temporal dynamics of human consumption and environmental pressure in the Yangtze River Economic Zone (YREZ) using consumption-based HANPP (cHANPP) and Human Appropriation of Net Primary Production (HANPP) as indicators. Later, we measured their decoupling relationship using Tapio decoupling approach. We found that distribution of HANPP and cHANPP were regionally separated, with the former mainly concentrated in the middle and upper reaches provinces, while the latter concentrated in the lower reach provinces. From 2004 to 2019, the relationship between HANPP and cHANPP changed from strong negative decoupling to weak decoupling in the YREZ. Furthermore, the relationship was differed among different regions. As a whole, developing regions showed a weak decoupling state, experiencing an increase in environmental pressure (i.e., HANPP) alongside increased human consumption (i.e., cHANPP). In contrast, developed regions showed a strong decoupling state, experiencing a decrease in environmental pressure (i.e., HANPP) alongside increased human consumption (i.e., cHANPP). Our study highlights that different countermeasures should be formulated by regions according to their own situation to realize sustainable regional development.

The Path to Optimize the Authorized Legislative Power of Special Economic Zones

The authorized legislative system of China’s special economic zones has provided strong support for the successful implementation of reform and opening up. However, with the vigorous development of the special economic zone economy, the authorized legislative power of special economic zones also faces a series of opportunities and challenges, involving key issues such as power boundaries, legal frameworks, and scope definition. This study focuses on the legitimacy analysis of the authorization decisions made by the National People’s Congress and its Standing Committee, the legitimacy analysis of the authorization of the National People’s Congress to formulate regulations by the government of special economic zones, as well as the review and supervision of the authorized legislation of special economic zones. It explores the enhancement and prospects of legislative authority in Special Economic Zones, aiming to establish a theoretical foundation for the standardization of the legislative power of special economic zones in China, promote the establishment of legal frameworks and the sustained prosperity of special economic zones.

ВЛИЯНИЕ РЕГИОНАЛЬНОЙ ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКОЙ СТРАТЕГИИ НА ВНЕШНЮЮ ТОРГОВЛЮ КИТАЯ

China, being one of the largest economic players in world trade, is actively developing and implementing regional economic strategies. They have a significant influence on its foreign trade. China’s regional economic strategies include various measures to support product exports, create special economic zones, and attract foreign investment. These and other measures are aimed at stimulating foreign trade, since a decline in China’s foreign trade volumes has become apparent this year. The features of China’s regional economic strategy are examined, and emphasis is placed on the role of special economic zones in China’s economic development and foreign trade.

Effects of work-family conflict, social support and burnout on job satisfaction among primary care physicians in Huaihai economic zone.

Primary care physicians (PCPs) are doctors in primary health care institutions, namely village clinics, township health centers and community health service centers (stations) who are the main providers of primary health care services in primary health care settings. Improving the overall health status of the population requires the support of a large number of primary care physicians; however, the job satisfaction of this group has not been sufficiently emphasized and recognized. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of primary care physicians' work-family conflict on their job satisfaction, as well as the mediating role of burnout and the moderating role of social support. This cross-sectional study was conducted from February 2023 to March 2023. Participants were 749 primary care physicians from four cities of Xuzhou, Linyi, Huaibei, and Shangqiu in the Huaihai Economic Zone of China. SPSS statistical analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between work-family conflict, social support, burnout and job satisfaction among medical workers. Work-family conflict had a significant negative effect on job satisfaction (β = -0.36, p< 0.001), after adding burnout in the model, work-family conflict also negatively predicted job satisfaction (β = -0.32, p< 0.001). Social support had a moderating effect on the direct effect of burnout on job satisfaction (β = 0.00, t = 2.66, p< 0.01, 95%CI [0.001, 0.007]), the predictive effect of burnout on job satisfaction at high level of social support (β = -0.45, p< 0.001) was higher than a low level of social support (β = -0.33, p< 0.001). This study demonstrated the negative impact of work-family conflict on primary care physicians' job satisfaction, as well as the mediating role of burnout and the moderating role of social support on burnout and job satisfaction, which are important for improving primary care physicians' job satisfaction and enhancing the quality of primary care in the future.

Old Wine in a New Bottle: Understanding the Expansion of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone in China

Old Wine in a New Bottle: Understanding the Expansion of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone in China

Spatiotemporal evolution and determinants of urban land use efficiency under green development orientation: Insights from 284 cities and eight economic zones in China, 2005–2019

Green development is essential for improving urban land use efficiency (ULUE) as it seeks to optimize resource utilization and minimize waste and pollution. However, a long-term evolution of ULUE and its determinants under the context of green development are less discussed in existing studies. Drawing on remote sensing and statistical data and utilizing the super efficiency slack-based model (SBM) and the geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) model, this study evaluates green development-oriented ULUE and its spatiotemporal associations with determinants across 284 cities and eight economic zones in China from 2005 to 2019. We found that the green development-oriented ULUE in China generally increased in 15 years (from 0.404 to 0.55), with higher levels in coastal and northwestern regions than in central regions. Besides, per capita GDP, investment in technology and science, and degree of openness generally contributed to ULUE (over 75% observations showed positive coefficients), while investment in real estate had a negative impact on ULUE. The impact of industrial structure on ULUE experienced a transition from positive to negative in northern and eastern cities, with the highest coefficient decreasing from 0.194 in 2005 to −0.032 in 2019. Population density contributed to ULUE in southern and northwestern cities during 2005–2010 (coefficients ranging from 0.008 to 0.198), while it negatively influenced ULUE in most cities since 2015 (coefficients ranging from −0.009 to −0.283). The correlation between nighttime light, per capita road, and ULUE showed noticeable south-north differentiation. Our study provides valuable guidelines for Tailor-made strategies of efficient urban management towards sustainable urbanization.

Evolution of Industrial Ecology and Analysis of Influencing Factors: The Yellow River Basin in China

The Yellow River Basin is an important ecological function area and economic zone in China that faces the dual pressure of economic development and ecological protection. Industrial ecology designs industrial activities by imitating the ecosystem and would solve the dilemma in the development process of the Yellow River Basin. In this study, we evaluated the industrial ecology of 100 prefecture-level cities along the Yellow River Basin from 2003 to 2020 using the entropy weight method and analyzed their long-term spatial and temporal evolution trends. We also deconstructed the driving factors affecting the industrial ecology in the Yellow River Basin, regarding both internal and external aspects, using the coupled coordination model and the panel quantile model. We found the following: (1) The industrial ecology in the Yellow River Basin was slowly increasing in a “N”-type transformation trajectory, but the overall was still relatively low. (2) The slow improvement in ecosystem efficiency and the low coordination between the industrial system and the ecosystem are the main internal factors limiting the improvement in industrial ecology. (3) The population agglomeration, human capital accumulation, government guidance, and technology level are all important for improvements in industrial ecology in the Yellow River Basin. The impact of the financial level on industrial ecology in the Yellow River Basin was found to be negative. Therefore, it is necessary to take the correlation and coordination between the industrial system and the ecosystem as the main means and actively and positively promote the role of the external influencing factors to improve the industrial ecology in the Yellow River Basin.

Study on the Spatial and Temporal Evolution of High-Quality Development in Nine Provinces of the Yellow River Basin

High-quality development (HQD) is a positive initiative in China to promote sustainable development. Promoting HQD in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) is a major national strategy for China. The YRB is an important ecological barrier and economic zone in China, which comprises nine provinces, including Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan and Shandong. The objective of this paper is to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the HQD of the nine provinces in the YRB. It clarifies the basic connotation of HQD and constructs a comprehensive evaluation index system for HQD according to the principles of comprehensiveness, distinctiveness, openness, refinement and feasibility. The comprehensive evaluation index system includes four dimensions: economic development, technology innovation, society and livelihood, and ecological security, which contain 28 secondary indicators. The combined method of coupling development and entropy weight termed the “technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS)” was selected to make a comprehensive evaluation of the HQD of the nine provinces in the YRB from the time dimension and the space dimension, respectively. It was found that there are still problems, such as the differentiation of HQD, the low comprehensive development degree (CDD), and the low development coupling degree (DCD) in some provinces.

Spatio-temporal Variation in PM2.5 Concentration and Its Relationship with Vegetation Landscape Patterns in Typical Economic Zones in China from 2000 to 2020

This study explored the temporal and spatial variation in PM2.5 concentration and its relationship with the vegetation landscape pattern in three typical economic zones in China, which is of great significance for regional PM2.5pollution control and atmospheric environmental protection. In this study, the pixel binary model, Getis-Ord Gi* analysis, Theil-Sen Median analysis, Mann-Kendall significance test, Pearson correlation analysis, and multiple correlation analysis were used to explore the spatial cluster and spatio-temporal variation in PM2.5 and its correlation with the vegetation landscape index in the three economic zones of China on the basis of PM2.5 concentration data and MODIS NDVI data set. The results showed that PM2.5 in the Bohai Economic Rim was mainly dominated by the expansion of hot spots and the reduction in cold spots from 2000 to 2020. The proportion of cold spots and hot spots in the Yangtze River Delta showed insignificant changes. Both cold and hot spots in the Pearl River Delta had expanded. PM2.5 showed a downward trend in the three major economic zones from 2000 to 2020, and the magnitudes of increasing rates were higher in the Pearl River Delta, followed by those in the Yangtze River Delta and Bohai Economic Rim. From 2000 to 2020, PM2.5 exhibited a downward trend in the context of all vegetation coverage grades, and PM2.5 had most significantly improved within extremely low vegetation coverage in the three economic zones. On the landscape scale, PM2.5 values were mostly correlated with aggregation index in the Bohai Economic Rim, with the largest patch index in the Yangtze River Delta and Shannon's diversity in the Pearl River Delta, respectively. Under the context of different vegetation coverage levels, PM2.5showed the highest correlation with aggregation index in the Bohai Economic Rim, landscape shape index in the Yangtze River Delta, and percent of landscape in the Pearl River Delta, respectively. PM2.5 showed significant differences with vegetation landscape indices in the three economic zones. The combined effect of multiple vegetation landscape pattern indices on PM2.5 was stronger than that of the single vegetation landscape pattern index. The above results indicated that the spatial cluster of PM2.5 in the three major economic zones had changed, and PM2.5 showed a decreasing trend in the three economic zones during the study period. The relationship between PM2.5 and vegetation landscape indices exhibited obvious spatial heterogeneity in the three economic zones.

Research on the Development of Intangible Cultural Heritage Tourism Products in Nanchong

Promoting the integrated development of intangible cultural heritage and tourism is an important direction of China's development. Nanchong City, the central city of Northeast Sichuan Economic Zone of China, is selected as the research object. Based on the statistics of the existing intangible cultural heritage tourism resources in Nanchong City, the development status of its intangible cultural heritage tourism products is deeply analyzed by using ASEB grid analysis method. Based on the analysis results, it is proposed that the intangible cultural heritage tourism in Nanchong should be strengthened by constructing the product spectrum of cultural tourism, broadening the channels of tourism publicity, optimizing the design of tourist routes and creating distinctive brand images.

Multi-scenario simulation of land use and land cover based on shared socioeconomic pathways: The case of coastal special economic zones in China

Urban land-use change simulations without considering the sustainable planning policies, especially in special economic park highly concerned by planners, might lack the reliability and availability. Thus, this study proposes a novel planning support systems integrating the Cellular Automata Markov chain model and Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (CA-Markov-SSPs) for predicting the changing of land use and land cover (LULC) at the local and system level by using a novel machine learning-driven, multi-source spatial data modelling framework. Using multi-source satellite data of coastal special economic zones from 2000 to 2020 as a sample, calibration validation based on the kappa indicates a highest average reliability above 0.96 from 2015 to 2020, and the cultivated land and built-up land classes of LULC is the most significant changes in 2030 by using the transition matrix of probabilities, the other classes except water bodies continue to increase. And the non-sustainable development scenario can be prevented by the multiple level collaboration of socio-economic factors. This research intended to help decision makers to confine irrational urban expansion and achieve the sustainable development.

The Impact of Covid-19 on International Trade in China- Industry Review in the YRD and the PRD

Since the Covid-19 pandemic raged on a global scale, the trade of various countries has been affected to varying degrees. China faces significant challenges as one of the top countries in international trade. Although the epidemic situation in most countries around the world has improved significantly and trade levels are gradually resuming, China's trade is still affected by the domestic ‘Dynamic Covid-Zero’ policy and cannot return to pre-epidemic levels. The Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta are the most representative economic zones in China, their import and export trade are greatly influenced. The authors examine various facts and information in order to solve concerns produced by Covid-19 and Chinese policy in a variety of industries in international trade, and they also give some solutions. In this paper, the authors focus on (1) the overall current state of international trade in China; (2) Chinese policy of the government responses to the Covid-19 (3) the current state of the textile industry in the Yangtze River Delta, data analysis, and internal and external challenges; (4) the current situation of the Pearl River Delta's electronics manufacturing business, data analysis, and internal and external challenges; and (5) possible solutions from the government perspective.

SiamHRnet-OCR: A Novel Deforestation Detection Model with High-Resolution Imagery and Deep Learning

Forests play a critical role in global carbon cycling, and continuous forest destruction together with other factors has accelerated global warming. Furthermore, continued decline of forest areas will critically hinder the accomplishment of carbon neutrality goals. Although the geographical location of deforestation can now be rapidly and accurately detected with remote sensing technology, current forest change products are still not fine-grained, especially from the perspective of carbon trading. Here, we used a deep learning method to detect deforestation in large regions based on 2 m high-resolution optical remote sensing images. Firstly, we proposed a new deforestation detection dataset, which was generated from 11 provincial regions in the Yangtze River Economic Zone of China, containing a total number of 8330 samples (the size of each sample being 512 × 512 pixels). Then, a new deforestation detection model, SiamHRnet-OCR, was designed, based on this dataset. Compared with other deep learning models, SiamHRnet-OCR achieves better results in terms of precision, F1-score, and OA indicator: 0.6482, 0.6892, and 0.9898, respectively. Finally, two large-scale scenarios of deforestation experiments in Southern China were further tested; the deforestation detection results demonstrate that SiamHRnet-OCR can not only detect deforestation effectively but also capture the accurate boundary of the changing area.