The obstacles of China＇s economic transformation

In the past 30 years, China has gone from the transformation from a planned economy to a market economy, from the extensive economic growth mode to intensive economic growth model, and from relying on investment and export-led economy to relying on domestic demand and stimulating economic. China＇s economic transformation includes three parts： The first is the reform of economic system, the second is the change in the pattern of economic growth and the third is the adjustment of economic structure. This article describes the historical evolution and the reality of China＇s economic transformation, analysis the obstacles to China＇s economic transformation, and on this basis, put forward some suggestions.

The transformation of China＇s economic and government functions

The content of China＇s economic transformation is not single, and this article argues that it includes three parts. The first is the reform of economic system, the second is the change in the pattern of economic growth, and the third is the adjustment of economic structure. Government is the leading force of China＇s economic transformation, and repeated reform of government institutions has brought about some changes to government functions. But problems are obvious that lag changes of government functions have become an obstacle in China＇s economic transformation. This article describes the historical evolution and the reality of China＇s economic transformation, and analyzes the main reasons of lag changes in government functions, and reveals that the transformation of government functions is the key for successful transformation of China＇s economy.

Panorama of China＇s Economic Reforms since 1949

This paper presents an overview of China＇s economic development and reform over the past 60 years, mapping out the course of how Chinese people overcame ideological fetters constraints, redirected reform despite barriers and deviations, and brought into contrast the distinction between government and the market.In summary, it reinforces the fact that further reofrm is the only answer to China＇s complex economic contradictions.

Understanding Urban Vitality from the Economic and Human Activities Perspective:A Case Study of Chongqing,China

The literature on urban vitality tends to focus on the built environment.This paper argues that some important processes in shaping vitality may be overlooked without examining the intensity and diversity of economic and human activities.Using newly developed spatial big data and adopting the methods of multi-indicator measurement and spatial analysis methods,we analyzed the pattern of urban vitality in Chongqing,a provincial city in western China and,on this basis,evaluated the creation and maintenance of urban vitality from the economic and human activities perspective.Our findings indicate that the impacts of economic and human activities are positive and significant.Among the three intensity and diversity indicators,economic intensity and population density show an effect on urban vitality stronger than that of economic diversity.However,economic diversity has the strongest superposition or interactive effect,and is thus an important foundation dynamic.The positive effect of population density on urban vitality is largely a result of Chongqing’s jobs-housing balance.The case of Chongqing highlights the importance of topographic features,historical inheritance,large-scale migration,and cultural activities in shaping the distinctive vitality pattern of a city.This study contends that the creation and maintenance of urban vitality can not be fully explained without incorporating the impacts of economic and human activities.It contributes to a comprehensive measurement of urban vitality and enriches its connotations.

Evolution and Governance of the Structure of Marine Economic Networks in China’s Coastal Areas: Based on Sea-related A-share Listed Companies

Data on discrete,isolated attributes of the marine economy are often used in traditional marine economic research.However,as the focus of urban research shifts from internal static attributes to external dynamic linkages,the importance of marine economic net-work research is beginning to emerge.The construction of the marine economic network in China’s coastal areas is necessary to change the flow of land and sea resources and optimize regional marine economic development.Employing data from headquarters and branches of sea-related A-share listed enterprises to construct the marine economic network in China,we use social network analysis(SNA)to discuss the characteristics of its evolution as of 2010,2015,and 2020 and its governance.The following results were obtained.1)In terms of topological characteristics,the scale of the marine economic network in China’s coastal areas has accelerated and expan-ded,and the connections have become increasingly close;thus,this development has complex network characteristics.2)In terms of spatial structure,the intensity of the connection fluctuates and does not form stable development support;the group structure gradually becomes clear,but the overall pattern is fragmented;there are spatial differences in marine economic agglomeration radiation;the radi-ation effect of the eastern marine economic circle is obvious;and the polarization effect of northern and southern marine economic circles is significant.On this basis,we construct a framework for the governance of a marine economic network with the market,the government,and industry as the three governing bodies.By clarifying the driving factors and building objectives of marine economic network construction,this study aims to foster the high-quality development of China’s marine economy.

Effects of Enclosure on Grassland Ecological and Economic Benefits in Northern China

Grasslands in northern China serve the country as both an ecological barrier and a livestock production base.There,installing enclosures has been becoming the major grassland restoration measure adopted by many local governments.However,the effects of restoration on both ecological and production benefits of grassland remain unclear for implemented grassland restoration policies.Therefore,a representative rangeland in northern China,the Maodeng pasture in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region was selected as the study area,and remote sensing monitoring analyses were carried out to quantify the ecological benefits and economic benefits from 2015 to 2021.The results showed that:1) in terms of ecological benefits,the grassland area with a grassland coverage rate of more than 60% accounts for 32.3% of the regional area,and 86.4% of its grassland grew significantly better than the same period in2015,showing a significant improvement in grassland growth.Using the average amount of carbon per unit area as the ecological benefit evaluation index,it increased by 27.1% to 32.48Tg C/yr from 2015 to 2021.2) In terms of economic benefits,both theoretical grass production and livestock carrying capacity increased from 2015 to 2021.Compared to 2015,the theoretical grass production in 2021 increased by 24.8% to 71 900 t.The livestock carrying capacity reached 52 100 sheep units in 2021,nearly 11 000 sheep units more than that in 2015.During the study period,multiple economic indicators(on a per capita basis of permanent residents) for the pastoral area of Xilinhot City to which the Maodeng pasture belongs,have grown steadily.Per capita total income rose from 29 630 yuan(RMB) in2015 to 62 859 yuan(RMB) in 2021.Relying on grassland resources to develop the pastoral ecology also broadens the potential economic development space.Overall,the establishment of the reserve and the experiment of implanting an enclosure policy have had a significant and positive impact on Maodeng pasture’s development from both an ecological and economic perspective.With the support of scientific evidence,enclosure policy can be extended to more than 110 000 km~2 of grasslands in northern China with similar precipitation and temperature conditions,enhancing the productive and ecological potential of grasslands.The above research results will contribute to the scientific formulation of grassland pasture quality improvement plans in northern China.

Exploring the impact of economic growth and energy consumption on SO_(2) emissions in China based on the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis

This study aims to analysis the influence of economic growth(EG)and energy consumption(EC)on sulfur dioxide emissions(SE)in China.Accordingly,this study explores the link between EG,EC,and SE for 30 provinces in China over the span of 2000-2019.This study also analyzes cross-sectional dependence tests,panel unit root tests,Westerlund panel cointegration tests,Dumitrescu-Hurlin(D-H)causality tests.According to the test results,there is an inverted U-shaped association between EG and SE,and the assumption of the Environmental Kuznets Curve(EKC)is verified.The signs of EG and EC in the fixed effect(FE)and random effect(RE)methods are in line with those in the dynamic ordinary least squares(DOLS),fully modified ordinary least squares(FMOLS)and autoregressive distributed lag(ARDL)estimators.Moreover,the results verified that EC can obviously positive impact the SE.To reduce SE in China,government and policymakers can improve air quality by developing cleaner energy sources and improving energy efficiency.This requires the comprehensive use of policies,regulations,economic incentives,and public participation to promote sustainable development.

Spatial-temporal Divergence Characteristics and Driving Factors of Green Economic Efficiency in the Yangtze River Economic Belt of China

The spatial and temporal variation of green economic efficiency and its driving factors are of great significance for the con-struction of high-efficiency and low-consumption green development model and sustainable socio-economic development.The research focused on the Yangtze River Economic Belt(YREB)and employed the miniumum distance to strong efficient frontier DEA(MinDs)model to measure the green economic efficiency of the municipalities in the region between 2008 and 2020.Then,the spatial autocorrel-ation model was used to analyze the evolution characteristics of its spatial pattern.Finally,Geodetector was applied to reveal the drivers and their interactions on green economic efficiency.It is found that:1)the overall green economic efficiency of the YREB from 2008 to 2020 shows a W-shaped fluctuating upward trend,green economic efficiency is greater in the downstream and smallest in the upstream;2)the spatial distribution of green economic efficiency shows clustering characteristics,with multi-core clustering based on‘city clusters-central cities'becoming more obvious over time;the High-High agglomeration type is mainly clustered in Jiangsu and Zheji-ang,while the Low-Low agglomeration type is clustered in the western Sichuan Plateau area and southwestern Yunnan;3)from input-output factors,whether it is the YREB as a whole or the upper,middle and lower reaches regions,the economic development level,labor input,and capital investment are the leading factors in the spatial-temporal evolution of green economic efficiency,with the com-prehensive influence of economic development level and pollution index being the most important interactive driving factor;4)from so-cio-economic factors,information technology drivers such as government intervention,transportation accessibility,information infra-structure,and Internet penetration are always high impact influencers and dominant interaction factors for green economic efficiency in the YREB and the three major regions in the upper,middle and lower reaches.Accordingly,the article puts forward relevant policy re-commendations in terms of formulating differentiated green transformation strategies,strengthening network leadership and informa-tion technology construction and coordinating multi-factor integrated development,which could provide useful reference for promoting synergistic green economic efficiency in the YREB.

Supply-Side Structural Reforms and China's Potential Economic Growth Rate

This paper examines the effect of supply-side structural reforms on China＇s potential economic growth rate in the coming decade according to the data the authors have gathered. Under the rapid growth scenario with the implementation of supply-side structural reforms, China＇s potential economic growth rate will reach an average of 6.5% and 5.8% respectively in the 13th Five-year Plan （2016-2020） and 14th Five-year Plan （2021-2025） periods. These rates are 0.2 and 0.3 percentage points higher, respectively, than that under the baseline scenario with the inertia of historic trends. In implementing supply-side structural reforms, China must transform governmental functions, break monopolies, create a comprehensive competitive market environment, foster the creation of pro-innovation mechanisms, refocus on quality and efficiency, and raise capital utilization and labor productivity.

China’s Potential Economic Growths during 2015-2025 under Different Scenarios~

China has entered a crucial period of further growth and restructuring that will last until 2025. Based on a review of the major factors affecting China＇s potential economic growth, this paper has created an integrated economic system model consisting of system dynamics, econometrics, and input-output for the forecast of China＇s economic size and structure by 2025. Analysis shows that prior to 2025, China will be able to maintain a potential annual economic growth rate of 5.7%-7.2%. Faced with an international environment of a possible slowdown of advanced economies and diminishing demographic dividends, China needs to further expedite its urbanization process, enhance R＆D and education spending, increase total factor productivity （TFP）, vigorously develop the tertiary sector, and expand consumption in order to achieve the optimistically estimated growth of 6.6%-7.4% during the period of 2015-2025. Economic growth should be accompanied by the upgrade of industry structure and improvement of investment and consumption structures.

Impacts of Future Changes in Heavy Precipitation and Extreme Drought on the Economy over South China and Indochina

Heavy precipitation and extreme drought have caused severe economic losses over South China and Indochina(INCSC)in recent decades.Given the areas with large gross domestic product(GDP)in the INCSC region are distributed along the coastline and greatly affected by global warming,understanding the possible economic impacts induced by future changes in the maximum consecutive 5-day precipitation(RX5day)and the maximum consecutive dry days(CDD)is critical for adaptation planning in this region.Based on the latest data released by phase 6 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project(CMIP6),future projections of precipitation extremes with bias correction and their impacts on GDP over the INCSC region under the fossil-fueled development Shared Socioeconomic Pathway(SSP5-8.5)are investigated.Results indicate that RX5day will intensify robustly throughout the INCSC region,while CDD will lengthen in most regions under global warming.The changes in climate consistently dominate the effect on GDP over the INCSC region,rather than the change of GDP.If only considering the effect of climate change on GDP,the changes in precipitation extremes bring a larger impact on the economy in the future to the provinces of Hunan,Jiangxi,Fujian,Guangdong,and Hainan in South China,as well as the Malay Peninsula and southern Cambodia in Indochina.Thus,timely regional adaptation strategies are urgent for these regions.Moreover,from the sub-regional average viewpoint,over two thirds of CMIP6 models agree that maintaining a lower global warming level will reduce the economic impacts from heavy precipitation over the INCSC region.

Domestic Demand-Based Economic Globalization： Strategic Choice for China to Profit from the Second Wave of Globalization

China＇s first wave of economic globalization is characterized by its full utilization of foreign advanced, especially innovative, production factors in the domestic market to develop its innovation economy. China＇s participation in global economy can be described as fully utilizing domestic low-end production factors through foreign markets. This type of participation has been overdone. As China aims to engage in a second wave of economic globalization, the focus is to implement an in-depth globalization strategy under the condition of expanding domestic demands, namely and to develop the global economy based on domestic demands, The purpose is to achieve an economic rebalance with the world and help China out of its overcapacity predicament in weaker global economic climates. Moreover, it will bring China a chance to introduce foreign advanced factors to accelerate growth and develop innovation economy by turning economic crisis in the West into opportunities.

Spatio-temporal Pattern Characteristics of Relationship Between Urbanization and Economic Development at County Level in China

The relationship between China’s urbanization and economic development(RCUED) is an important concern nationwide. As important actors in regional strategy and policy, county-level regions have played an increasingly significant role in the development of China’s social economy. However, the existing research on the RCUED lacks the fine depiction of the county-level administrative units.Using 2000 and 2010 census data and the statistical analysis method, we uncovered the evolution characteristics of China’s urbanization and economic development and conducted a quantitative identification for the RCUED with improved methods using the quadrant map approach. In addition, we investigated the spatial correlation effect of the RCUED using the spatial autocorrelation analysis method. The results were as follows: 1) In general, a high degree of matching exists between China’s urbanization and economic development at the county level at the significance level of 0.01. The correlation coefficients between China’s urbanization and economic development in2000 and 2010 were 0.608 and 0.603, respectively. 2) A significant regional difference exists in the RCUED at the county level. Based on a comparative analysis of 2276 county units in China in the two years, we found that county units can be categorized as under-urbanized, basic coordination and over-urbanized in various areas. No situation was observed where urbanization seriously lagged behind the economic development level, so the levels of urbanization and economic development appear to be basically coordinated,and the coordination state may be gradually optimized over time. 3) Over time, the spatial dependency of the RCUED has weakened and the spatial heterogeneity has increased. Northeast China has always been an area characterized by over-urbanization. The number of county units classified as under-urbanized has begun to decline in eastern coastal urban agglomeration areas, while counties rich in resources have transformed from having point-shaped over-urbanization to plane-shaped under-urbanization along the northern border,and the number of over-urbanized county units has increased in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. 4)’Lag-lag’ type and ’advance-advance’ type accounted for 68% of all counties in China, and these counties were shown to have obvious spatial differentiation characteristics.

The Evolution of Regional Economic Resilience in the Old Industrial Bases in China: A Case Study of Liaoning Province, China

The economic transformation of the old industrial bases is a key research topic among geographers in China.In this paper,we propose that the concept of regional economic resilience(RER)has unique theoretical value in analyzing the economic transformation of the old industrial bases.We constructed an analytical framework and an index system and applied the conceptual tools to study the evolution of RER in the old industrial base of Liaoning Province in China,which is currently subjected to not only sudden shocks but‘slow burn’—longer term processes of change that may nevertheless affect the regional economy.There are four main findings:first,the evolution of RER in Liaoning can be divided into four stages from 2000 to 2015.Liaoning is currently in its conservation-release period,and the next stage will be a release-reorganization period.Second,the RER of the majority of the studied cities is lower than the average value for Liaoning,and this is mainly attributed to the relatively weak vulnerability-resistance and adaptability-transformation capacity of these cities.Third,the RER levels of the 14 cities in Liaoning differ significantly.At the first level is Shenyang and Dalian,at the second level is Dandong and Yingkou,and the third level comprises the remaining cities.Fourth,regional economic resilience is mainly determined by vulnerability-resistance,which indirectly reflects Liaoning’s lack of adaptability-transformation capacity,and the ability of the region to renew or create a new development path is weak.

R/S AND WAVELET ANALYSIS ON EVOLUTIONARYPROCESS OF REGIONAL ECONOMIC DISPARITY IN CHINA DURING PAST 50 YEARS

This paper shows the dynamic process of regional disparity of economic development in China in the past 50 years from a new insight by using the rescaled range statistic (R/S) analysis and wavelet analysis of the Theil index sequence with different time scales. The main conclusions are: 1) The regional disparity of economic development in China, including the inter-provincial disparity, inter-regional disparity and intra-regional disparity, has existed for many years. Theil index by the comparative price has revealed the true trend for comparative disparity of regional economic development from 1952 to 2000. 2) Decomposition of Theil index indicates that the dynamic trend of comparative inter-provincial disparity in the coastal region is in line with dynamic trend of inter-provincial disparity in the whole China. 3) The R/S analysis results tell us that during 1966-1978, the Hurst exponent H=0.504 approximate to 0.5, which indicates that in that period the evolution of comparative inter-provincial disparity of economic development showed a random characteristic, and in the other periods, i.e. 1952-1965, 1979-1990 and 1991-2000, the Hurst exponent H>0.5, which indicates that in those periods the evolution of the comparative inter-provincial disparity of economic development in China had a long-enduring characteristic. 4) By using wavelet analysis at different time scale, we arrived at a conclusion that the evolutionary process of the disparity of economic development of China is not a simple inverted U shape but a compound of several U shapes. The result tells us that the evolutionary plot of inter-provincial disparity in China follows the inverted U on the whole at the higher scale, 24 ( 16 years). That is to say, the disparity tends to rise in the first stage of economic development, and fall slowly over the peak in the second stage of economic development. However, if we shorten the time scale to 23 ( 8 years), then a link of several U shapes will appear.

Spatial distribution of mountainous regions and classifications of economic development in China

China is a mountainous country with a great diversity of landform and geomorphology.This diversity underlines the need for regionalization and classification.This study defines the mountain terrains and regions with three criteria-elevation,relative height,and slope,and examines the extent of mountainous regions by using county as the basic administrative unit.According to the three parameters of economic base,resident income and development potential,we classified the economic development level in mountainous regions of China.The findings reveal that the extent of the mountainous region accounts for 74.9% of the China's Mainland's total area.The economic development of mountainous regions in China is classified into 4 main types and 23 subtypes.

Progress of regional economic geography in China: a comparative study

Domestic and international literatures in economic geography in recent years showthat the disciplinary status of regional economic geography remains steay. Domesticliteratures prefer regional comprehensive development than that of international in theapplication fields. The process of establishing theoretical system with Chinese characteristocscontinues and has made some progress. The economic regions element theory, developmenttheory and management theory have been added to the already existed theory system. Theconstruction of comprehensive and integrated methodology system has initiated.

Understanding Relationship Between Accessibility and Economic Growth:A Case Study from China(1990–2010)

China′s economy and transport infrastructure have both experienced rapid development since 1978, and especially since 1990. Today, China is the second-largest economic entity in terms of GDP and has the largest high-speed rail(HSR) network and the second-largest expressway network in the world. This paper explores the relationship between accessibility and economic growth in China from 1990 to 2010. In the study, the basic research units include 333 prefecture-level cities and four municipalities. We explore a bivariate analysis framework of accessibility and economic growth, and their increase rates, to examine this relationship using long-term panel data. The results indicate that, first, accessibility and economic growth show a significant positive relationship using both cross-section and panel data, while the increase rate in accessibility and GDP indicate no significant relationship using cross-section data and a poor significant relationship using panel data. Second, the distributions of local advantage are uneven. Cities with low local advantage with respect to accessibility and GDP are mainly located in China′s eastern coastal region or the provincial capitals, while those with low local advantage in terms of their increase rates are located in the western region. Third, as China′s economic growth and transport networks have evolved, the distribution of local advantage shows little change in terms of accessibility and GDP, but a greater change in terms of their increase rates, which is largely influenced by the distribution of expressway and HSR networks.

Transnational Economic Connection Analysis Based on Railway Class Accessibility Between China and Russia

Under the background of ‘the Belt and Road’ initiative, the economic cooperation has great potential between China and Russia. The railway accessibility has an important influence on the economic connections of cities along the railway line. This paper studied the Sino-Russian transnational economic connection based on the railway class accessibility along Trans-Siberian railway(the transnational China railway branch line). The results are as following. First, the railway accessibility of the Chinese nodes is stronger than that of the Russian nodes, which in general displays a tendency of space attenuation from China to the Sino-Russian border, then to Russia. Spatially, the railway accessibility within the study area shows a ‘High East, Low West’ and ‘High South, Low North’ spatial pattern. The railway accessibility of the nodes, which are located at the beginning and end of the railway line, is weaker than those nodes located in the middle of the line. Second, the railway accessibility and external economic connection intensity summation of the nodes show a positive relationship along the railway line. The economic connection intensity summation of different nodes presents obvious regional differentiation. Finally, as economic connection network has evolved, the small world effect of Sino-Russian railway economic connection network becomes strong.