Spatial Pattern and Influencing Factors of China’s Digital Trade Resilience under the Impact of Trade Frictions

In the era of the digital economy,digital trade has demonstrated strong vitality,becoming a crucial driving force for the highquality development of national and regional economies.However,understanding the resilience of digital trade in the face of external crises is an important topic.Taking the backdrop of Sino-US trade friction,this paper constructs a resilience index system for digital trade.It utilizes entropy method,kernel density estimation,and ArcGIS mapping to calculate and visually analyze the resilience of China’s digital trade from 2017 to 2021.Additionally,a Tobit model is constructed to explore the main influencing factors of digital trade resilience patterns.The research findings indicate:1)temporally,during the period of Sino-US trade friction,China’s digital trade resilience shows an overall upward trend,but there are regional differences in resilience levels across the country,with a severe polarization phenomenon.2)Spatially,high resilience is observed in the eastern and central regions of China,while the western and northeastern regions exhibit low resilience.3)From a dimensional perspective,the resistance of digital trade resilience displays a spatial distribution of high values in the east and low values in the west.The recovery force is aggregated along coastal areas,and the renewal force tends to aggregate along the eastern coastline.4)Factors such as economic scale,industrial structure,urbanization rate,government fiscal expenditure,and technological talents significantly promote the enhancement of digital trade resilience.This study reveals the dynamic characteristics and influencing factors of digital trade resilience in responding to external shocks,providing theoretical basis and policy suggestions for enhancing digital trade resilience,and promoting high-quality economic development in China.

African Trade Beads

First crafted and worn 120,000 years ago,beads began as adornments made from natural materials such as stones,shells,and wood.Over time,they evolved in purpose,serving as currency and burial offerings.

A Trade War With No Winners

US President-elect Donald Trump is set to ignite new trade wars with some other countries,including China.His announcement on social media on 25 November 2024 that he would impose additional tari"s on goods from China,Canada,and Mexico came as no surprise.

Foreign Trade Hits New High

China’s foreign trade hit a record high in total value in 2024 as the world’s second-largest economy further consolidated its top position globally in goods trade.The nation’s total goods imports and exports in yuan terms reached about$6.1 trillion last year,up 5 percent year on year,according to data released on 13 January by the General Administration of Customs(GAC).

Model of decentralized cross-chain energy trading for power systems

With the development of the energy Internet, more distributed generators are connected to the power grid, resulting in numerous heterogeneous energy networks. However, different energy networks cannot perform efficient energy trading in the centralized management mode, this deeply affecting the complementary ability of heterogeneous energy, resulting in the islanded energy phenomenon. In this model, the same energy on the chain is traded within the chain, and the heterogeneous energy on different chains is traded across chains. To trade energy between heterogeneous energy networks more efficiently, the blockchain-based cross-chain model is proposed based on the existing infrastructure. Heterogeneous energy nodes are assigned to different energy sub-chains and cross-chain energy transactions are performed through a relay-chain, which utilizes the improved Boneh–Lynn–Shacham signature scheme consensus algorithm based on the proof-of-stake and practical Byzantine fault tolerance. The experimental simulations on energy trading efficiency, throughput, and security, show its superiority over existing systems. Further, the simulation results provide a reference for the application of cross-chain technology in energy interconnection.

Challenges Facing Zimbabwean Cross Border Traders Trading in South Africa： A Review of Literature

Cross border traders make a major contribution to the growth of economies in Southern Africa. Cross border trade is a source of livelihood for many poor people, especially women. However, few studies examined challenges facing cross border traders and future business prospects.The aim of this paper is to examine the challenges that face Zimbabwean cross border traders in South Africa. The paper goes further to review existing literature as well as empirical studies in order to identify the major challenges that face Zimbabwean cross border traders. Among the challenges noted are crime, harassment due to xenophobia, traders are often stigmatized as ＂prostitutes＂ or ＂smugglers＂, accommodation problems, extortion and bribery by the South African Police and municipal police officials, delays at the border post during peak periods and banks that close early and also do not operate on Sundays. The Zimbabwean Cross Border Traders Association should build office in Musina and Johannesburg so that members can easily consult with the association in times of problems and also help with marketing information like distribution of brochures showcasing Zimbabwean products sold by cross border traders and also organize fairs where Zimbabwean traders can display their products. Furthermore cases of harassment by police officials should be investigated and dealt with. Banks that do have branches at the border posts are also urged to provide 24 hour service to cross border traders.

Trading in the Cloud The first online Canton Fair brings new impetus to Sino-African trade ties

The China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, is China’s oldest trade fair. It is also the largest, as it covers an area equivalent to 166 football pitches. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 127 th edition of this biannual trade fair was held online from June 15 to 24 for the first time since its creation in 1957.

Temporal and spatial evolution of global major grain trade patterns

The complex and volatile international landscape has significantly impacted global grain supply security. This study uses a complex network analysis model to examine the evolution and trends of the global major grain trade from 1990 to 2020, focusing on network topology, centrality ranking, and community structure. There are three major findings. First, the global major grain trade network has expanded in scale, with a growing emphasis on diversification and balance. During the study period, the United States, Canada, China, and Brazil were the core nodes of the network. Grain-exporting countries were mainly situated in Asia, the Americas, and Europe, and importing countries in Asia, Africa, and Europe. Second, a significant increase in the number of high centrality countries with high export capacity occurred, benefiting from natural advantages such as fertile land and favorable climates. Third, the main global grain trade network is divided into four communities, with the Americas-Europe community being the largest and most widespread. The formation of the community pattern was influenced by geographic proximity, driven by the core exporting countries. Therefore, the world needs to enhance the existing trade model, promote the multi-polarization of the grain trade network, and establish a global vision for the future community. Countries and regions should participate actively in global grain trade security governance and institutional reform, expand trade links with other countries, and optimize import and export policies to reduce trade risks.

Impact of BRICS Trade Facilitation on China's Exports Using Cross-Border E-Commerce

With the rapid growth of the global digital economy, cross-border e-commerce, as an emerging form of trade, has gradually become a powerful engine to promote the development of global trade. BRICS is an important force in the global economy, and the progress of the BRICS countries' trade facilitation level has an important impact on the global trade environment. This paper conducts an in-depth study of the dynamic changes in BRICS trade facilitation from 2013 to 2022, and uses an extended gravity model to analyze the specific impact of this change on China's exports using cross-border e-commerce. The results show that although the BRICS countries have made some progress in trade facilitation, the overall level still needs to be improved, and there are obvious differences among member countries. However, the improvement of trade facilitation among BRICS countries has undoubtedly brought significant positive effects to China's exports using cross-border e-commerce.

Trade credit contracting in a risk-averse supply chain under adverse selection and moral hazard

Trade credit,as an effective tool for integrating and coordinating material,information,and financial flows in supply chain management,is becoming increasingly widespread.We explore how a manufacturer can design optimal trade credit contracts when a risk-averse retailer hides its sales cost information(adverse selection)and selling effort level(moral hazard).We develop incentive models for a risk-averse supply chain when adverse selection and moral hazard coexist,which are then compared with the results under single information asymmetry(moral hazard).Moreover,we analyze the effects of private information and risk-aversion coefficient on contract parameters,selling effort level and the profit or utility of the supply chain.The study shows that when the degree of retailer’s risk aversion is within a certain range,reasonable trade credit contracts designed by the manufacturer can effectively induce the retailer to report its real sales cost and encourage it to exert appropriate effort.Furthermore,we find that the optimal trade credit period,optimal transfer payment,and retailer’s optimal sales effort level under dual information asymmetry are less than those under single information asymmetry.Numerical analysis are conducted to demonstrate the effects of the parameters on decisions and profits.

Electricity Carbon Quota Trading Scheme based on Certificateless Signature and Blockchain

The carbon tradingmarket can promote“carbon peaking”and“carbon neutrality”at low cost,but carbon emission quotas face attacks such as data forgery,tampering,counterfeiting,and replay in the electricity trading market.Certificateless signatures are a new cryptographic technology that can address traditional cryptography’s general essential certificate requirements and avoid the problem of crucial escrowbased on identity cryptography.However,most certificateless signatures still suffer fromvarious security flaws.We present a secure and efficient certificateless signing scheme by examining the security of existing certificateless signature schemes.To ensure the integrity and verifiability of electricity carbon quota trading,we propose an electricity carbon quota trading scheme based on a certificateless signature and blockchain.Our scheme utilizes certificateless signatures to ensure the validity and nonrepudiation of transactions and adopts blockchain technology to achieve immutability and traceability in electricity carbon quota transactions.In addition,validating electricity carbon quota transactions does not require time-consuming bilinear pairing operations.The results of the analysis indicate that our scheme meets existential unforgeability under adaptive selective message attacks,offers conditional identity privacy protection,resists replay attacks,and demonstrates high computing and communication performance.

An Energy Trading Method Based on Alliance Blockchain and Multi-Signature

Blockchain,known for its secure encrypted ledger,has garnered attention in financial and data transfer realms,including the field of energy trading.However,the decentralized nature and identity anonymity of user nodes raise uncertainties in energy transactions.The broadcast consensus authentication slows transaction speeds,and frequent single-point transactions in multi-node settings pose key exposure risks without protective measures during user signing.To address these,an alliance blockchain scheme is proposed,reducing the resource-intensive identity verification among nodes.It integrates multi-signature functionality to fortify user resources and transac-tion security.A novel multi-signature process within this framework involves neutral nodes established through central nodes.These neutral nodes participate in multi-signature’s signing and verification,ensuring user identity and transaction content privacy.Reducing interactions among user nodes enhances transaction efficiency by minimizing communication overhead during verification and consensus stages.Rigorous assessments on reliability and operational speed highlight superior security performance,resilient against conventional attack vectors.Simulation shows that compared to traditional solutions,this scheme has advantages in terms of running speed.In conclusion,the alliance blockchain framework introduces a novel approach to tackle blockchain’s limitations in energy transactions.The integrated multi-signature process,involving neutral nodes,significantly enhances security and privacy.The scheme’s efficiency,validated through analytical assessments and simulations,indicates robustness against security threats and improved transactional speeds.This research underscores the potential for improved security and efficiency in blockchain-enabled energy trading systems.

Unleashing the Power of Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning for Algorithmic Trading in the Digital Financial Frontier and Enterprise Information Systems

In the rapidly evolving landscape of today’s digital economy,Financial Technology(Fintech)emerges as a trans-formative force,propelled by the dynamic synergy between Artificial Intelligence(AI)and Algorithmic Trading.Our in-depth investigation delves into the intricacies of merging Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning(MARL)and Explainable AI(XAI)within Fintech,aiming to refine Algorithmic Trading strategies.Through meticulous examination,we uncover the nuanced interactions of AI-driven agents as they collaborate and compete within the financial realm,employing sophisticated deep learning techniques to enhance the clarity and adaptability of trading decisions.These AI-infused Fintech platforms harness collective intelligence to unearth trends,mitigate risks,and provide tailored financial guidance,fostering benefits for individuals and enterprises navigating the digital landscape.Our research holds the potential to revolutionize finance,opening doors to fresh avenues for investment and asset management in the digital age.Additionally,our statistical evaluation yields encouraging results,with metrics such as Accuracy=0.85,Precision=0.88,and F1 Score=0.86,reaffirming the efficacy of our approach within Fintech and emphasizing its reliability and innovative prowess.

Sharing Smart Services,Jointly Promoting Trade Development

In 2024,the China International Fair for Trade in Services (hereinafter referred to as CIFTIS) opened in the China National Convention Center and Shougang Park on September 12th.The theme of the CIFTIS this time was"global services,shared prosperity",which is not only a window for allowing the world to discover the development of China's service trade,but is also a bridge for promoting global cooperation with regards to the service trade.As one of the world-famous service trade events,the CIFTIS has become an important business card allowing China to open up.The CIFTIS has attracted the attention of the whole world and become a bridge for all parties to share development opportunities,promote industrial growth,and strengthen communication.

World Trade Organization Reform and the Role of the Global South

Under the impact of unilateralism and protectionism,trade disputes among countries have increased in recent years,bringing uncertainty to global trade and jeopardizing the multilateral trading system.The World Trade Organization(WTO)plays a crucial role in the development of the global economy and trade.It also plays a key role in maintaining a fair,open and sustainable international trade environment,and provides a solid foundation for the development of global economy and trade.As the Global South has played an important role in promoting WTO reform and safeguarding the rights and interests of developing countries,it’s important to further strengthen its solidarity,actively participate in the reform of the global trade governance system and promote the building of a more open,fair and balanced global trade environment.

Production and trade trend of oils and oilseeds in BRICS countries

In order to promote agricultural production and trade cooperation among BRICS countries,and ensure the security and stability of the oils and oilseeds industrial and supply chains in China and the world,the production,consumption,trade trend,and cooperation potential of oils and oilseeds in BRICS countries were expounded,and relevant policy recommendations were put forward.Most of the BRICS countries are major agricultural producers,and they are also important agricultural product consumption markets in the world.In 2023/2024,the production and consumption of oilseeds in BRICS countries account for nearly half of the world's total;the production of vegetable oils exceeds a quarter of the world's total,and the consumption of vegetable oils accounts for 40%of the world's total.In 2023/2024,the import and export volume of oilseeds exceeds half of the world's total;vegetable oil imports account for 40%of the world's total,and exports account for about one tenth of the world's total.China's imports of oilseeds and oils from BRICS countries account for 68%and 29%of its global imports in 2023,respectively.BRICS countries are rich in agricultural land resources,have great potential for oils and oilseeds production,obvious complementary advantages in trade structure,and huge space for future cooperation.It is suggested that Brazil should be included in the"Belt and Road"co-construction category to promote the continuous deepening of agricultural cooperation between China and Brazil.It is suggested to explore regional agricultural trade agreements among BRICS countries,promote currency settlement and exchange among BRICS countries,and enhance the facilitation and stability of BRICS trade.It is suggested that China should increase its investment in BRICS countries and export advanced technology and management experience to benefit local agricultural development and achieve a mutually beneficial and win-win situation.

Specialization or Diversification:Which is More Conducive to Foreign Trade Resilience?Evidence from China-Russia Border Regions in Northeast China

Under the background of complex international situation,how to build the special geo-economic space of China-Russia bor-der lies in strengthening their foreign trade resilience against external shocks.Based on empirical evidence from ten prefecture-level China-Russia border regions in Northeast China,this paper analyzed the spatiotemporal evolution of foreign trade resilience under different shocks.Furthermore,through the Panel Regression model,the mechanism of the industrial structure on the foreign trade resilience in contraction period and expansion period was discussed.The results showed that:1)from 2004 to 2021,foreign trade in China-Russia border regions experienced five phases.The overall foreign trade resilience was higher than expected,showing a rising volatility trend,but there was significant spatial heterogeneity in the ability of cities to cope with shocks.2)Highly specialized clusters were mainly concentrated in Yichun,Heihe and Da Hinggan Ling Prefecture,while Mudanjiang and Yanbian performed better in related and unrelated diversification.3)In different stages of economic system evolution,the response mode,degree and result of border foreign trade resilience to regional industrial structure showed obvious stage characteristics.During the contraction period,related diversification was more conducive to improving the resistance through risk spillovers.During the expansion period,specialization played a more significant role in improving regional resilience through self-reinforcing effect.These results are beneficial for expanding the resilience theory,ensuring border economic security and optimizing border industrial investment layout.

Distributed Robust Scheduling Optimization of Wind-Thermal-Storage System Based on Hybrid Carbon Trading and Wasserstein Fuzzy Set

A robust scheduling optimization method for wind–fire storage system distribution based on the mixed carbon trading mechanism is proposed to improve the rationality of carbon emission quota allocation while reducing the instability of large-scale wind power access systems.A hybrid carbon trading mechanism that combines shortterm and long-term carbon trading is constructed,and a fuzzy set based onWasserstein measurement is proposed to address the uncertainty of wind power access.Moreover,a robust scheduling optimization method for wind–fire storage systems is formed.Results of the multi scenario comparative analysis of practical cases show that the proposed method can deal with the uncertainty of large-scale wind power access and can effectively reduce operating costs and carbon emissions.

Protection of the Right to Data Privacy Under the Liberalization of Digital Trade

In the digital era,the free cross-border flow of data and the development of digital trade are complementary.Consequently,as an inherent demand for data privacy,trade liberalization is closely linked to the right to data privacy,and data privacy protection is increasingly becoming a trade issue.However,conflicting rule settings between the two create discrepancies and result in differing rule-making approaches.The concept of the right to data privacy provides guidance and evaluative functions for the development of trade liberalization,facilitating the healthy development of digital trade.It is appropriate to treat the interaction between trade liberalization and data privacy protection in a rational way and to place them within independent systems at this stage.Data localization measures are an effective way to balance digital trade liberalization with the right to data privacy.As a data privacy protection measure,data localization has legitimacy within the trade law framework.Looking ahead,to achieve a harmonious advancement of digital trade liberalization and protection of the right to data privacy,all parties should uphold the premise of the national regulatory autonomy,and respect the data localization measures adopted by countries based on their own national conditions and personal data protection considerations.

“China Shock”or China Dividend?-China GVC Participation’s Effects on Trading Partners’Technological Progress

This paper explores the effects of China’s global value chain(GVC)participation on technological progress in trading-partner countries based on estimated data on value-added trade between China and 52 trading partners.We find that,first,although China’s exports lowered the total factor productivity(TFP)of its trading partners(competitive effect),its imports greatly increased trading partners’TFP(effect of scale).This implies that China’s GVC participation is beneficial to its trading partners’technological progress in the form of a considerable technology dividend effect.Second,China’s export dividend effect compensates for the negative effect of Chinese competition on trading partners’technological progress;the innovation effects attributable to China’s imports reinforce the positive effects of scale on technological progress.When innovation is factored in,the China dividend thus becomes further reinforced.Third,China’s merchandise imports have a diminishing positive effect on technological progress in trading partners as geographical distance increases,but trade in services transcends geographical boundaries,and the positive technological progress effect of China’s service imports do not diminish as distance increases.We find that the“China dividend”from China’s GVC participation is a significant contributor to technological progress in partner nations,and China’s imports are conducive to innovation and technological progress in developed countries in the long run.