Comprehensive Measurement for Carrying Capacity of Resources and Environment of City Clusters in Central China

Studying the carrying capacity of resources and environment of city clusters in the central China has important practical guidance significance for promoting the healthy, sustainable and stable development of this region. According to their influencing factors and reciprocity mechanism, using system dynamics approaches, this paper built a SD model for measuring the carrying capacity of resources and environment of the city clusters in the central China, and through setting different development models, the comprehensive measurement analysis on the carrying capacity was carried out. The results show that the model of promoting socio-economic development under the protection of resources and environment is the optimal model for promoting the harmony development of resources, environment, society and economy in the city clusters. According to this model, the optimum population scale of the city clusters in 2020 is 42.80×106 persons, and the moderate economic development scale is 22.055×1012 yuan (RMB). In 1996-2020, the carrying capacity of resources and environment in the city clusters took on obvious phase-change characteristics. During the studied period, it is basically at the initial development stage, and will come through the development process from slow development to speedup development.

Developing a Subjective Evaluation Scale for Assessing the Built Environments of China’s Hygienic City Initiative

Objective To develop a preliminary subjective evaluation scale for assessing the built environments of China’s Hygienic City Initiative and to evaluate its reliability and validity.Methods The initial items of the scale were determined based on a review of policy documents and consultations with experts. The final items of the scale were confirmed through individual interviews with residents combined with the discretetrend method, critical ratio method, correlation coefficient method, and factor analysis method. Then, the dimensions of the scale were determined using exploratory factor analysis(EFA). The Cronbach’s α coefficient, split-half reliability coefficient, and confirmatory factor analysis(CFA) were used to assess the reliability and validity of the scale.Results A scale containing five dimensions with 22 items was established, including urban lifestyle,governance, basic functions, environmental sanitation, and amenities. The Cronbach’s α coefficient of the scale was 0.876, and the split-half reliability coefficient was 0.796. The CFA results indicate that each inspection level was within the standard limit.Conclusion The preliminarily subjective evaluation scale for assessing the built environments of China’s Hygienic City Initiative demonstrates a high level of reliability and validity. Additional empirical studies should be carried out to further verify the value of the scale in terms of practical application.

Spatio-temporal Distribution Characteristics and Environmental Impact Factors of Lung Cancer Mortality: A Case Study of Yuhui District in Bengbu City, China

Among cancers, lung cancer is the most common cause of death in China. For the prevention and control of lung cancer, it is necessary to investigate the spatial and temporal distribution of lung cancer mortality, as well as the changes in the trend and the affecting mechanism. Based on statistics and auto-correlation analysis, this paper studied the spatial and temporal distribution of lung cancer mortality in Yuhui District, Bengbu, Huaihe River Basin, from 2017 to 2020. In addition, Spearman’s Rank Correlation Assessment Model and Geographic Detector Model were used to examine the relationship between environmental factors and lung cancer mortality to identify impact factors and their mechanisms. The findings indicated that: 1) from the characteristics of temporal distribution, the number of lung cancer deaths exhibited a linear growth tendency, with the highest mortality in winter;2) from the characteristics of spatial distribution, lung cancer mortality showed a strong spatial agglomeration form, concentrating on two clustering areas, located in the old city and the central city of Bengbu, near the Huaihe River;3) from the point of view of the whole research area, there were 15 impact factors with significant correlation in the built and natural environment factors. The significant impacting factors in the built environment included land use, road traffic, spatial form and blue-green space, which could indirectly affect lung cancer mortality, while air pollution and temperature constituted the significant impacting factors in the natural environment;4) the influence of screened environmental factors on lung cancer mortality was different. Spatial stratified heterogeneity assessment, the interaction among environmental factors demonstrated statistical significance, it was found that the interaction between environmental factors in pairs had a significant enhancement effect on lung cancer mortality. To some extent, urban planning and policies could reduce lung cancer mortality.

ON THE DIFFERENTIATION OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF CHINA’S NORTH,CENTRAL & SOUTH COASTAL REGIONS

Ⅰ. An analysis of the development trend of the economy in the north,middle aud south coastal regions or China since China began to implementreform and open

Research Report on China's Policy toward Central/East European Countries

With the admission of eight Central/East European countries in May 1, 2004 in sight, realization of the objective of EU’s first phase eastern extension will signify a major step toward the concept of "a Europe kept far away from war" through promoting regional integration.

Eurasia Continental Bridge——An Important Link of the Coordinated Development between China's Eastern,Central and Western Regions

The new Eurasia Continental Bridgeruns from East China to Central andWest China, crossing 11 provincesand regions, namely Jiangsu, Shandong,Hubei, Anhui, Shaanxi, Gansu, Shanxi,Sichuan, Qinghai, Xinjiang and Ningxia.The total area is 3.6 million sq km and thepopulation is about 300 million, accountingfor a third and a quarter of the whole countryrespectively. The area is very rich in naturalresources, so it is called an "Economic goldbelt" and "Gold corridor". Aerial remote-control survey indicates that along thecontinental bridge from Lianyungang to theAla Mountains within China’s boundary,

LESSONS FROM EUROPE FOR CHINA?New Urban Sub-Centres for a Polycentric Network City

This paper compares two cases:It relates to the development of new urban sub-centres in China,and the relationship of these sub-centres to‘Network City’theory.As cities move towards more polycentric systems,the case of Potsdamer Platz Berlin,compared to Zhenru Sub-Centre in Shanghai,is discussed.Both are transport-oriented developments promoting mixed-use density and transport-oriented development.According to the documentation by Shanghai municipality,this new urban centre,which is currently in its planning phase,is supposed to become a‘sustainable sub-centre for a growing metropolis.’The author,who has intimate knowledge of the Berlin case,was asked to advice on the Chinese project,based on the Potsdamer Platz experience.After some hesitation,a series of careful recommendations were formulated for the design and development of the Zhenru Sub-Centre,knowing that it is rather difficult to translate from one case to the other.The conclusion includes five recommendations for the urban design of such sub-centres,to ensure a delivery of economical,social and environmental sustainable outcomes.

Spending Power on the rise in China’s Smaller Cities

China’s big spenders now far-flung by Yu Nan WIDELY recognized as one of the most beautiful cities in China,the coastal port of Dalian is a perfect example of a lowertier city becoming a growth hub for multinationals, owing to stronger purchasing power. That trend inspired Boston Consulting Group(BCG) to release a report,advising businessmen to look beyond the familiar mega-cities to the fast-growing smaller

Reform of China's Judicial System Promotes Protection of Human Rights——An interview with Wang Shengjun, secretary-general of the Politico-Legal Committee of the CPC Central Committee

The 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China （CPC） held in 2003 set thetask of promoting the reform of China＇s judicial system, a task seen as of strategic importance to the country＇s development. Shortly afterwards, the CPC Central Committee set up the Leading Group for the Judicial System Reform （LGJSR）.

New Five-Year Program and Progress of China's Human Rights Cause——A study of the guidelines set by the Fifth Plenary Session of the Seventeenth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China

The Proposal for the Twelfth Five-Year Plan for China＇s Economic and Social Development （2011-2015）（herein after referred to as the ＂Proposed Plan＂ for short） provides a complete range of guidelines for China＇s im-mediate and long-term development.

Water Shortages in China's Cities

"Water,woater evenyuwhere,and nary a drop to drink!"Poetry becomes reality in China,as experts scramble to find new supplies of the preious liquid to slake the thirst of a growing population and industry.

URBAN COMPETITIVE PATTERN AND ITS CHANGES IN CHINA

With the national economy’s transition from a planning one to a market one, the factors affecting regional economic pattern has changed greatly. In this paper we first construct an index system for evaluating competitiveness of Chinese cities based on modern competitive advantage theory. With principal component analysis and cluster analysis methods, we compare the factors affecling cities’ integrated competitiveness in 1990 and 1997. We find that four major factors are capital (including investment, FDI and urban financial revenue ), urban ithestructure (transporiation and communication, urbanization level, education etc. ), industrial performance and structure, degree of market openness and that these factors have become more advanced and complicated since 1990. Most Chinese cities are transforming from productive factors-oriented type to investment-oriented type and a few are becoming innovation oriented. The integrated competitiveness is closely related to cities’ scale, urban function, regional policy and degree of market openness and displays an uneven spatial pattern. The difference between the south and the north and the difference between the west and the east co-exist bul the former has been more larger. Finally, we discuss the mechanism behind the pattern and attribute the unevenness to change of factors dominating the cities’ compehtiveness regional innovation capacity and geographical differenceof traditional culture.

Impacts of land-use change on ecosystem service value in Changsha,China

Changsha,a typical city in central China,was selected as the study area to assess the variations of ecosystem service value on the basis of land-use change. The analysis not only included the whole city but also the urban district where the landscape changed more rapidly in the center of the city. Two LANDSAT TM data sets in 1986 and 2000 and land use data of five urban districts from 1995 to 2005 were used to estimate the changes in the size of six land use categories. Meanwhile,previously published value coefficients were used to detect the changes in the value of ecosystem services delivered by each land category. The result shows that the total value of ecosystem services in Changsha declines from $1 009.28 million per year in 1986 to $938.11 million per year in 2000. This decline is largely attributable to the increase of construction land,and the conversion from woodland and water body to cropland to keep the crop production. In the five districts,there is $6.19 million decline in ecosystem service value between 1995 and 2005. Yuelu District has the highest unit ecosystem service value while Yuhua District has the lowest one. This may be attributed to the greater conversion from cropland and grassland to woodland and water body with the increase of construction land in Yuelu District. It is suggested that the increase rate of construction land should be controlled rigorously and the area of woodland and water body should be increased or at least retained in the study area.

Rank-size Distributions of Chinese Cities: Macro and Micro Patterns

A large number of studies have been conducted to find a better fit for city rank-size distributions in different countries. Many theoretical curves have been proposed, but no consensus has been reached. This study argues for the importance of examining city rank-size distribution across different city size scales. In addition to focusing on macro patterns, this study examines the micro patterns of city rank-size distributions in China. A moving window method is developed to detect rank-size distributions of cities in different sizes incrementally. The results show that micro patterns of the actual city rank-size distributions in China are much more complex than those suggested by the three theoretical distributions examined(Pareto, quadratic, and q-exponential distributions). City size distributions present persistent discontinuities. Large cities are more evenly distributed than small cities and than that predicted by Zipf′s law. In addition, the trend is becoming more pronounced over time. Medium-sized cities became evenly distributed first and then unevenly distributed thereafter. The rank-size distributions of small cities are relatively consistent. While the three theoretical distributions examined in this study all have the ability to detect the overall dynamics of city rank-size distributions, the actual macro distribution may be composed of a combination of the three theoretical distributions.

Thomas Chao’s Journalistic Activities and Influence on Increasing China’s Voice Worldwide

In the 1930s and 1940s,Thomas Chao,an internationally-renowned Chinese journalist,influenced Chinese journalists’way of covering and writing news with his own prominent experience in international news reporting.Based on his long-term news practice,Chao analyzed the differences between Chinese and Western press and explored the way for improvement.He called on the government to set up a national news agency so as to establish itself in the field of international communication,and helped the Central News Agency to take back Reuters’right to publish in China.Chao also actively promoted the exchange and cooperation between Chinese newspapers and news agencies and foreign press in international communication activities,striving to increase China’s voice worldwide.

The difference of clinical characteristics of patients with COVID-19 in Fourth-tier city and Wuhan

Objective:This study mainly analyzed the clinical characteristics of patients with COVID-19 in Suining,one of China’s fourth-tier cities,and Wuhan and compared data between the 2 cities.Methods:A retrospective analysis of the clinical data of 68 patients with COVID-19 diagnosed at Wuhan Red Cross Hospital and 17 patients diagnosed at Suining Central Hospital,was conducted.Results:Among the 68 patients with COVID-19 in Wuhan,30(44.1%)had hypertension,and 25(36.8%)had diabetes.Three out of the 17 patients in Suining(17.6%)had hypertension,and 2 patients(11.8%)had diabetes.In the clinical classification,there were 1(5.9%)and 23(33.8%)patients with severe COVID-19 in Suining and Wuhan,respectively.Chest CT showed that lung consolidation occurred in 2(11.8%)and 26(38.2%)patients with COVID-19 in Suining and Wuhan,respectively.The proportion of patients with diabetes or hypertension,severe COVID-19,lung consolidation in Wuhan was significantly higher than that in Suining.The laboratory tests suggested that percentage of elevated C-reactive protein(CRP)(58.8%),ALT(33.8%),blood glucose(45.6%),creatine kinase(CK)(33.8%)or D-dimer(47.1%)of patients in Wuhan were significantly increased than those in Suining(29.4%,5.9%,17.6%,5.9%,and 17.7%,respectively).Conclusion:The incidence of COVID-19 in fourth-tier city and the disease severity were significantly lower than that in Wuhan.