Western Regions Of China Research Articles

Research on the synergetic development of producer services and manufacturing in northwest China’s inland central cities—A case study of Lanzhou

Under the post Ford flexible production organization system, the existence of specialized division of labor has made the forward and backward connections between the producer services as an intermediate input and the manufacturing increasingly close. With the proposal of the "Belt and Road" and the deepening of “The development of the western region in China”, the northwest region plays an increasingly important role in China’s regional development strategy, and the economic transformation, especially the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing, and it is crucial to its completion of the strategic mission entrusted by the state. Taking Lanzhou City as a case area, based on the measurement of the cooperative development level of producer services and manufacturing, this paper explores the internal law of the synergetic development of producer services and manufacturing in the northwest inland central city. The study found: The overall synergy development level of producer services and manufacturing in Lanzhou has been significantly improved in the dynamic evolution process, and two industries are in the transition stage from the primary coordinated development to the intermediate coordinated development at present. The spatial layout of producer services and manufacturing in Lanzhou City has certain spatial proximity, and the overall presents a "center-periphery" spatial pattern with the main urban area as the main component. From the perspective of the synergistic development of producer services and manufacturing in Lanzhou, the two industries have initially formed an interactive relationship of two-way promotion at present, but there is a significant asymmetry in the two-way promoting effect of the two industries.

Is vaccine hesitancy related to mental health after the adjustment of the zero-COVID-19 strategy in the elderly? A mediation analysis in China

ABSTRACT With the global Omicron pandemic and the adjustment of the zero-coronavirus disease 2019 (zero-COVID-19) strategy in China, there is a critical need to improve vaccination rates among older adults while addressing the mental health issues associated with vaccination. This study investigated levels of COVID-19-related anxiety, depression, benefit finding, and fear in older adults and explored the relationship between vaccine hesitancy, sociodemographic factors, and mental health. Participants aged 60 and older (n = 658) were recruited from several cities in the eastern, central, and western China regions. Of these, 347 exhibited vaccine hesitancy. The effects of residence, education, health status, and COVID-19 vaccination on anxiety/depression/benefit-finding were found to be mediated/suppressed by vaccine hesitancy. Additionally, in investigating psychological antecedents, older people without vaccine hesitancy showed higher confidence, lower complacency, fewer constraints, and a greater sense of collective responsibility. This study advances our understanding of mental health differences in anxiety, depression, and benefit-finding across sociodemographic characteristics. It is essential to improve population confidence related to vaccines, accessibility to vaccination services, and responsibility to mitigate vaccine hesitancy while paying close attention to the mental health associated with vaccination in older adults.

The 2023 Earthquake in Türkiye and Implications for China’s Response to Catastrophe

On 6 February 2023, two 7.8 magnitude earthquakes consecutively hit south-central Türkiye, causing great concern from all governments, the United Nations, academia, and all sectors of society. Analyses indicate that there is also a high possibility of strong earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.8 or above occurring in the western region of China in the coming years. China is a country that is highly susceptible to catastrophic disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and other natural calamities, which can cause significant damages to both human life and property, as well as widespread impacts on the society. Currently, China’s capacity for disaster prevention and control is still limited. In order to effectively reduce the impact of catastrophic disasters, ensure the safety of people’s lives and property to the greatest extent possible, maintain social stability in high-risk areas, and ensure high-quality and sustainable regional development, it is urgent to improve the seismic resistance level of houses and critical infrastructure in high earthquake risk zones and increase the earthquake-resistant design level of houses in high-risk fault areas with frequent seismic activities; significantly enhance the ability to defend against extreme weather and ocean disasters in economically developed areas along the southeastern coast, as well as the level of fortification in response to extreme meteorological and hydrological disasters of coastal towns/cities and key infrastructure; vigorously enhance the emergency response capacity and disaster risk prevention level in western and ethnic minority regions; comprehensively improve the defense level of residential areas and major infrastructure in high geological hazard risk zones with flash floods, landslides, and mudslides; systematically promote national disaster prevention and mitigation education; and greatly enhance the societal disaster risk reduction ability, including catastrophic insurance.

How Does Digital Finance Promote Regional Economic Growth?

The development of digital finance has important practical significance for regional economic growth. This article is based on the Digital Inclusive Finance Index developed by Peking University to study the impact of digital finance on economic growth in various regions of China, and uses the internet penetration rate at each provincial level as a tool variable to alleviate endogeneity issues in the model. Research has found that digital finance has a significant promoting effect on regional economic growth, and all three dimensions of digital finance have a positive impact on economic growth; Digital finance has shown some differences in the eastern, central, and western regions of China, with overall positive impacts, but its impact on economic growth in the eastern region is greater. This article provides an empirical basis for the development of digital finance in China, and provides a robustness analysis of digital finance promoting regional economic growth. Based on the current situation of digital finance development in China and the conclusions drawn in this article, it is believed that the construction of regional financial infrastructure should be accelerated, and the government should provide more financial resources for the central and western regions of China to narrow regional disparities, In order to better achieve the driving effect of digital finance on economic growth and regional coordinated development.

Adaptation to the new energy side of the configuration of energy storage optimization analysis

Energy storage technology is the key to achieving a high proportion of new energy generation, but the current optimization analysis of renewable energy side configuration of energy storage technology is not comprehensive enough and does not consider different application scenarios and operating conditions. In order to better select the appropriate energy storage technology and formulate the corresponding policy, this paper takes the western region of China as an example, and uses the particle swarm algorithm to determine the optimal energy storage configuration scheme; finally, comparing with the traditional scheme, the proposed optimization scheme takes into full consideration the stochastic nature of the wind and light power and the load in the microgrid, and reduces the cost of the energy storage configuration. Also, the grid operation loss is reduced and the economy of the grid operation is improved.

Role of Chinese cities in abating aviation carbon emissions based on gridded population data and power law model

As a major source of carbon emissions, the civil aviation sector needs a feasible path for low-carbon transition. Owing to the dynamics of travel demand in China, the spatial patterns of aviation emissions are difficult to foresee or simulate in scenario analysis. To address this issue, we predicted the spatial patterns of aviation carbon emissions in China at the city level using projected gridded population data and power law model. The results show that China's civil aviation sector will have a cumulative emission abatement potential of 7027 million tons from 2020 to 2060 if all abatement measures can be implemented. The contribution of individual cities was quantified based on expected changes in population, airport planning, and economic development. Megacities and metropolitan cities will contribute to 58.1 % and 26.2 % of the total emission abatement, respectively. The eastern, central, and western regions of China will contribute to 64.2 %, 15.8 %, and 20.0 % of the total abatement, respectively. The abatement potentials before and after 2040 are expected to account for 20.0 % and 80.0 % of the whole from 2020 to 2060. Therefore, some regions and cities can be regarded as key or pilot areas to implement abatement measures. Finally, policy implications of the results are presented.

Impacts of Digital Financial Inclusion on Urban–Rural Income Disparity: A Comparative Research of the Eastern and Western Regions in China

This study aims to investigate the influence of digital financial inclusion on China’s urban–rural income disparity. A comparative analysis on income differences between western and eastern regions in China was conducted in this paper. The study utilized a static panel approach as it consisted of 22 provinces in China that covered the period from 2011 to 2020. This paper employs Stata software for the data analysis. The dependent variable of this study is the urban–rural income gap. Meanwhile, the independent variables consist of the total index level, breadth of coverage, depth of use, degree of digitization, digital payment level, digital insurance level, and digital credit level. The control variables employed in this article are education level, financial support, economic transformation, technological progress, and trade openness. The empirical outcomes indicate that the seven independent variables potentially minimize the urban–rural income gap between the two regions. However, digital financial inclusion appears to have a more significant effect in lessening the urban–rural gap in the western region compared to the eastern region in China. The findings demonstrate that all the variables exhibit a higher degree of influence on the urban–rural income differences in the west than in the east, except for the credit index. The outcome reveals that the effect of the credit index in the western region (0.10%) is slightly lower than the eastern region (0.11%). In general, the present findings can provide valuable insights for policy makers in their efforts to address the urban–rural income gap in the two regions through the implementation of digital financial inclusion initiatives. The study should be conducted regularly to observe the trend of the income disparities between the western and eastern regions in China. Future studies can also focus on other regions or narrow the focus to provincial and city levels to capture more detailed information.

Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Green Energy Development in China

The development of non-conventional energy sources is not only an important guarantee for national energy security but also a key support for the realization of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. However, there is limited knowledge of the spatial and temporal patterns and changing characteristics of green energy development in China. Here, based on the energy production and consumption data of the last decade, we combined the gravity center model and statistical model to assess the spatial and temporal patterns of non-conventional energy in 31 provinces of China. The research results show: (1) under the impetus of the development of green low-carbon and ecological civilization strategy, the rate of increase in the production of non-conventional energy in China and the proportion of it increase year by year, and the energy structure obviously presents the characteristics of being low-carbon and cleaner. (2) For the spatial patterns of non-conventional energy development, due to the development of wind power and photovoltaic constraints by natural resource conditions and technology, their development trend is best in northeast, north, and northwest China. (3) The generation of PV and wind power is dominated by northwest China and north China, and the generation of nuclear power is dominated by southeast China, whereas the consumption is dominated by east China and central China; there is an obvious spatial imbalance between non-conventional energy production and consumption. (4) The proportion of photovoltaics in non-conventional energy production has increased significantly over the 2010–2020 period, which is the main driver of the overall shift in the gravity center of non-conventional energy production towards the northwest region of China. (5) In recent years, the gradual transfer of industries from the east to the central and western regions of China and the improvement in the economic level of the western regions have led to an increase in energy production and consumption, promoting a shift in the gravity center of energy production and consumption to the west. Overall, the structural transformation of China’s energy production and consumption (from a high-carbon black structure to a low-carbon and carbon-free green structure) is progressing, and some provinces have achieved significant results, presenting a non-conventional energy industry in accordance with local conditions and the development trend of the non-conventional energy industry.

The effect of public environmental participation on pollution governance in China: The mediating role of local governments' environmental attention

Using panel data of 11 provinces in the western region of China, the paper empirically analyzes the influence of public environmental participation on the effectiveness of pollution governance. Based on documents from provincial governments in Western China, the paper uses Nvivo software to extract keywords about local governments' attention to the environment and examines its mediating effect between public environmental participation and pollution governance. Furthermore, a classifiable analysis of government environmental attention is carried out, and the effect of local governments' attention to the environment on pollution governance is studied. The results show that public environmental participation promotes pollution governance by increasing the governments' attention to the environment. Additionally, local governments' environmental attention also has a promotive effect on pollution governance, and the increase in environmental decision-makers' attention to environmental pollution and energy consumption is conducive to the improvement of environmental quality, but the effect of environmental protection and collaborative attention on environmental quality improvement still needs to be explored further.

Blessing or Curse? The Impact of Digital Technologies on Carbon Efficiency in the Agricultural Sector of China

Digital technology can be used to adjust the structure of energy production, promote the development of new agricultural production technologies, and reduce carbon emissions. With the increasing integration of digital technology in various fields, rural development is also entering a critical period of digital transformation. Therefore, this paper uses digital technology and agricultural carbon emission intensity as research objects. We use panel data from 2011 to 2019. We first measure and analyse the level of digital technology development in China. This article empirically tests the impact between digital technology and the intensity of agricultural carbon emissions. Digital technology can be used to significantly suppress the intensity of agricultural carbon emissions. The suppressive effect is more significant in the western region of China than in the central and eastern regions.

Fiscal decentralization and rural resource utilization efficiency: Evidence from quasi-natural experiment in China

The depletion of resources has triggered numerous climate and health challenges, making fiscal policy responses a primary concern for governments. The existing literature places less emphasis on sub-provincial decentralization plans and more on fiscal decentralization “between the central government and the local government.” This study investigates the influence of fiscal Digitalization policies on resource utilization efficiency (RUE) from China's “province directly supervising counties” reform based on 34,251 observations from 2060 counties from 2000 to 2017, using the difference-in-difference (DID) model. The research demonstrates that the execution of fiscal Digitalization policy benefits greatly the RUE. This effect is further enhanced by the digitisation of the regional economy and the presence of an advanced industrial structure, which act as positive moderating factors. Additionally, the fiscal Digitalization policy has a more significant effect on less developed regions, regions with high fiscal freedom, and Western Region of China. This paper provides empirical evidence that fiscal Digitalization policy at the sub-provincial level optimizes the RUE and provides ideas for fiscal reforms to advance global sustainable development.

Examining the Effects and Operational Mechanisms of Green Credit on Carbon Emissions in Chinese Regions

The utilization of a green financial system, particularly through the implementation of green credit, plays a pivotal role in fostering environmentally sustainable, low-carbon economic growth and facilitating the transition toward a more ecologically responsible economy. This paper employs a two-way fixed-effects model, utilizing provincial panel data spanning from 2012 to 2020, to investigate the influence of green credit on regional carbon emissions within different regions of China. The results reveal a significant reduction in carbon emissions as a consequence of the green credit program’s implementation. The analysis of the pathway indicates that green credit is instrumental in mitigating carbon emissions by instigating shifts in the energy mix, with evidence suggesting a partial mediating effect. Furthermore, a heterogeneity analysis discovered that the suppressive impact of green credit on carbon emissions is more pronounced in the eastern and western regions of China, while it is less significant in the central and northeastern areas. The implications of this study provide robust evidence in support of the role of green credit in reducing carbon emissions and can serve as a valuable resource for policymakers aiming to promote the expansion of green credit programs and, in turn, contribute to substantial reductions in carbon emissions.

Decomposition of industrial SO2 emission in China with firm entry and exit

The difficulty of the sulfur dioxide (SO2) pollution control task has deepened step by step in recent years, while the marginal cost of environmental protection in China has also been higher. Therefore, it is necessary to study the main impact factors of China's industrial SO2 pollution. Based on China's Industrial Environmental Statistics Database from 2004 to 2013, this paper extends the Index Decomposition Analysis (IDA) with firm entry and exit to conduct a micro-level decomposition study. The industrial SO2 emission in China is decomposed into scale effect, composition effect, firm growth effect, and firm selection effect. Also, we use the Dagum Gini coefficient to analyze the spatial differences of firm growth effect and selection effect between the eastern, central, and western regions in China. This paper finds that the main contribution of industrial SO2 emission control in China is the firm growth effect, which was −103% between 2004 and 2013. And the second largest contribution term is the firm selection effect, which is −18%, while the composition effect is −15%. In terms of temporal patterns, the size of the firm growth effect shrinks as time grows, and the composition effect changes from negative to positive after 2009. For spatial difference analysis, the Dagum Gini coefficient of technique effect and firm growth effect between different regions have become smaller and smaller over time, while the spatial differences of firm selection effect between regions remain unchanged.

Regional catastrophic health expenditure and health inequality in China

BackgroundCatastrophic health expenditures (CHE) can trigger illness-caused poverty and compound poverty-caused illness. Our study is the first regional comparative study to analyze CHE trends and health inequality in eastern, central and western China, exploring the differences and disparities across regions to make targeted health policy recommendations.MethodsUsing data from China's Household Panel Study (CFPS), we selected Shanghai, Henan and Gansu as representative eastern-central-western regional provinces to construct a unique 5-year CHE unbalanced panel dataset. CHE incidence was measured by calculating headcount; CHE intensity was measured by overshoot and CHE inequality was estimated by concentration curves (CC) and the concentration index (CI). A random effect model was employed to analyze the impact of household head socio-economic characteristics, the household socio-economic characteristics and household health utilization on CHE incidence across the three regions.ResultsThe study found that the incidence and intensity of CHE decreased, but the degree of CHE inequality increased, across all three regions. For all regions, the trend of inequality first decreased and then increased. We also revealed significant differences across the eastern, central and western regions of China in CHE incidence, intensity, inequality and regional differences in the CHE influencing factors. Affected by factors such as the gap between the rich and the poor and the uneven distribution of medical resources, families in the eastern region who were unmarried, use supplementary medical insurance, and had members receiving outpatient treatment were more likely to experience CHE. Families with chronic diseases in the central and western regions were more likely to suffer CHE, and rural families in the western region were more likely to experience CHE.ConclusionsThe trends and causes of CHE varied across the different regions, which requires a further tilt of medical resources to the central and western regions; improved prevention and financial support for chronic diseases households; and reform of the insurance reimbursement policy of outpatient medical insurance. On a regional basis, health policy should not only address CHE incidence and intensity, but also its inequality.

Empirical Analysis of Export Tax Rebate on Inwards Foreign Direct Investment in China

Export tax rebate (ETR) and inwards foreign direct investment (IFDI) are important driving forces for the steady development of China’s export-oriented economy. Based on data from 2004 to 2019, this study puts forward relevant assumptions on constructing a model for empirically analyzing the impact of the ETR on China’s IFDI from the perspective of the national and the sub-national. The result demonstrates that there exists a complementary relationship between the ETR and IFDI; the weak lag effect of ETR on IFDI in the eastern, middle, and western regions of China; an explicit impact on the performance in the western region, which lags behind only one period; and no significant lag effect of ETR on IFDI in developed, moderately developed, and underdeveloped regions. On the basis of this evaluation, the conclusion could be achieved that that ETR has a significant effect on IFDI, though there may be differences in the direction and value of the impact. The highlight of this research is to detect the impact of ETR on IFDI by taking China as a case, and achieved that there exist sub-national differences, including the geographical and development-level differences.

Driving rural industry revitalization in the digital economy era: Exploring strategies and pathways in China.

In the context of the digital economy, achieving rural industrial revitalization in China hinges on digitization. This study delves into the synergistic mechanisms of diverse factors that contribute to Rural Industrial Revitalization across three dimensions: technology, organization, and environment. To investigate these mechanisms, a combination of the necessary condition analysis method and the fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis method is employed. The research findings indicate that no necessary conditions exist for achieving high-level rural industrial revitalization. However, digital infrastructure and the digital financial environment have a universally significant impact. The study identifies four distinct pathways driving high-level rural industrial revitalization: digitaldriven, digital-government-talentdriven, digital-enterprisedriven, and digital-enterprise-talentdriven. Furthermore, significant variations exist in the driving pathways for rural industrial revitalization among the eastern, central, and western regions of China. By unveiling the multifaceted mechanisms underpinning the revitalization of rural industries, this research provides valuable practical insights for the future development of rural industries in China.

Dynamic Responses of Concrete-Face Rockfill Dam to Different Site Conditions under Near-Fault Earthquake Excitation

The western region of China is rich in hydropower resources and characterized by unique geological conditions. For the construction or planned construction of high dams in this region, different types of cover layers are formed due to special geological structures, most of which are located in high seismic intensity zones. This study focuses on four different site conditions: hard ground, medium–hard ground, medium–soft ground, and weak ground. By simulating the dynamic response of concrete-face rockfill dams under near-fault earthquake excitation, the vertical settlement of the dam and the attenuation of seismic motion under different site conditions are analyzed. The research findings reveal a consistent trend where the vertical settlement of the dams progressively escalates with increasing dam height across all four site conditions. This settlement phenomenon is especially pronounced in weak ground conditions, posing a potential risk of failure. Furthermore, when subjected to near-fault pulse-type earthquake motions, the existence of weak soil layers significantly dampens the seismic forces experienced by the dam. This finding suggests that the weaker the geological conditions of the site, the more pronounced the attenuation effect of the seismic motion. Additionally, the overburden layers have a noticeable amplification effect on near-fault pulse-type earthquake motion. However, this amplification effect is not significant in weak ground, possibly due to the presence of weak soil layers restricting the propagation and amplification of seismic motion. In conclusion, these research findings have practical significance for the dynamic response of high dam construction in different site conditions in the western region of China. They provide a scientific basis for the design and construction of high dams and serve as a reference for the implementation of seismic mitigation measures and earthquake disaster prevention in engineering projects.

Oral Health Status of Disabled Children and Adolescents in China.

To investigate the dental caries status and periodontal status of disabled children and adolescents aged 0 to 18 years in China and provide suggestions for future policies. The cross-sectional survey included disabled children and adolescents aged 0 to 18 years in welfare institutions across 10 provinces in eastern, central and western regions in China, between November 2013 and May 2015. Oral health examination included dental caries status and periodontal status. The mean score for decayed, missing and filled teeth (dmft/ DMFT) due to caries in primary/permanent dentition, gingival bleeding rate and calculus rate were recorded and statistically evaluated. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 24.0 software (IBM, Armonk, NY, USA), and the level of statistical significance was P < 0.05. The mean dmft/DMFT values of for groups aged 0 to 5, 6 to 12 and 13 to 18 years were 1.48 ± 3.00, 2.19 ± 2.94 and 1.78 ± 2.93, respectively. The mean scores for the groups aged 0 to 5 (P < 0.05) and 13 to 18 years (P < 0.01) showed a significant difference among different disability types. A significant difference between sexes was found only in the group aged 0 to 5 years (P < 0.05). Gingival bleeding rates were 13.70% for the group aged 0 to 5 years, 24.81% for the group aged 6 to 12 years and 42.06% for the group aged 13 to 18 years, and calculus rates were 5.48%, 22.41% and 47.62% for the three age groups, respectively. The gingival bleeding rate for all three age groups showed a significant difference between different disability types (P < 0.01), whereas calculus rates a showed significant difference only in the groups aged 6 to 12 and 13 to 18 years (P < 0.01). The prevalence of dental caries, gingival bleeding and calculus in disabled children and adolescents in China is high. Disability type was strongly associated with oral health status. Specially designed oral health education and training are necessary for clinical professionals and caregivers.

Effect of digital inclusive finance on common prosperity and the underlying mechanisms

As China transitions to high-quality development, digital inclusive finance has the potential to promote common prosperity. While theoretically, digital inclusive finance is considered conducive to achieving this goal, its practical effects and underlying mechanisms need to be further studied and clarified. This research aims to explore the impact of digital inclusive finance on common prosperity, identifying its heterogeneity characteristics and investigating the mechanisms underlying this relationship. The study reveals the following findings: Firstly, digital inclusive finance plays a positive role in facilitating common prosperity, which is mainly achieved by focusing on the aspect of affluence. However, the effect of digital inclusive finance on enhancing commonality is not significant. Secondly, the breadth of coverage, depth of usage, and digitization level of digital inclusive finance all contribute to promoting both common prosperity and affluence. Further, a broader coverage and higher digitization level are associated with increased commonality. Thirdly, digital inclusive finance contributes to improving prosperity in both the eastern and western regions of China but leads to higher (lower) commonality in the western (eastern) region. Compared with the central and western regions, digital inclusive finance can play a better role in promoting common prosperity in the eastern region. Lastly, the study identifies three channels through which digital inclusive finance promotes common prosperity: advancing individual entrepreneurship, stimulating employment, and propelling Internet financing.

Urbanization with the pursuit of efficiency and ecology: Theory and evidence from China

The urbanization-environment nexus has been widely studied and discussed in academia and practice. However, previous studies have primarily relied on empirical analyses using outcome indicators such as CO2 emissions and often overlooked the role of policy and governance, which is not compatible with China's unique top-down urbanization model. To address this gap, this study presents a new perspective on the urbanization-environmental nexus by analyzing the impacts of ecological policy considerations on urbanization. It is the first to provide theoretical deductions and empirical extensions of such effects, using general equilibrium models, welfare analysis, and regression analysis with Chinese provincial data. The study draws three key findings. Firstly, it provides both theoretical models and empirical evidence from China that substantiate the negative impacts of ecological policy considerations on urbanization. Secondly, the study highlights the regional heterogeneity of the impacts, which are more significant across central and western regions of China and in regions without pilot cities of pollution rights trading (PRT) or carbon emission trading (CET) schemes. Finally, the study identifies two effective mechanisms for realizing the negative effects: reducing urban gas supply and labor-intensive industrial output. In order to strike a balance between urbanization and eco-environment, it is crucial to upgrade and implement the green transformation of urban energy systems and labor-intensive industrial production modes. These conclusions enrich our theoretical and empirical understanding of the urbanization-environment nexus, and emphasize the critical role of policy making and government intervention in achieving sustainable urbanization and ecological civilization construction in China.