Experiences and Prospects of China＇s Free Economic Zones after over 20 Years

Chinese FEZs are used as the tool for opening-up policy and the structural reform as well as the growth pole for the regional economic development. It is true that no Free Economic Zones （FEZs） in the world like in China have made so strong impact on national economic development and structural reform. Due to the change of their existing condition since the middle of 1990s, Chinese FEZs have to face the new challenges and problems. This study discusses and prospects the transformation and further development of Chinese FEZs in the 21^st century as well as their significance for the transformation of FEZs in other countries based on the analysis of the indicators such as the role, policy, industrial sectors, administration, development model, spatial structure and location.

The Consumption-Driven Effect of Place-based Industrial Policy:An Empirical Study Based on Development Zone Policy

Can the development zone policy that pioneered Chinese industrialization energize the consumption of urban residents and become an important means of achieving the coordinated development of industrialization and urbanization?We used the policy impact of upgrading provincial development zones to conduct empirical research on the consumptiondriven effect of development zone policy with the Difference in Difference(DID)model.Our findings show that the upgrading of development zones is significant in raising urban residents’total consumption,personal consumption,housing consumption and expenditure on children’s education.This is mainly due to the increase in productivity brought about by the upgrading policy.However,in cities that have more stringent household registration(hukou)systems,impose tougher home purchase restrictions(HPR)on the floating population and have less social harmony,the labor force is less willing and less able to consume,making it hard to expand domestic demand.

Contour Farming Suitability of the Black Soil Region in Northeast China and Its Spatial Characteristics

Contour farming technology plays a key role in reducing soil erosion,enhancing water use efficiency,and fostering sustain-able agricultural development,Despite being a straightforward yet efficacious farming technique,it has not seen widespread implement-ation in China.Considering the deteriorating quality of arable lands in the Black Soil Region of Northeast China(BSR-NEC),it is ne-cessary to investigate spatial patterns and identify suitable areas for contour farming in this region.To achieve this objective,spatial autocorrelation and grouping analysis methods were employed to classify the land into four categories of suitability for contour farming:highly suitable,moderately suitable,generally suitable,and unsuitable.The results reveal that:1)the contour farming suitable area in BSR-NEC covers 89861.32 km^(2),accounting for 21.59%of arable land as of 2020.Heilongjiang Province owns the largest suitable area of 32853.68 km^(2),and Inner Mongolia has the highest proportion of 28.89%.2)In terms of the spatial distribution,regions with higher suitability for contour farming are concentrated in the Da Hinggan Mountains region,particularly Nenjiang City(Heilongjiang Province),which has the highest area of 2593.07 km^(2).Areas with a high proportion of suitable arable lands for contour farming are mainly found in the Da Hinggan Mountains and Changbai Mountains regions,with Ergun City(Inner Mongolia)having the highest pro-portion at 47.2%.Regions with higher suitability and proportion are concentrated in the Da Hinggan Mountains region,primarily cover-ing the Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang.3)Regarding spatial clustering,both the area and proportion of suitable contour farming areas exhibit noticeable clustering effects,though not entirely consistent.4)Group analysis results designate 148 counties in BSR-NEC as highly suitable areas,predominantly located in the Changbai Mountains region,Liaodong Peninsula,Hulun Buir Plateau,and the north and south regions of the Da Hinggan Mountains.The zoning of suitable areas for contour farming in BSR-NEC informs the strategic de-velopment of policies and measures,allowing for the implementation of targeted policies in distinct areas suitable for contour farming.This provides a valuable reference for promoting contour farming technology more effectively and efficiently.re effectively and effi-ciently.