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.

Spatial differences of Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs)among counties(cities)on the northern slope of the Kunlun Mountains

The county(city)located on the northern slope of the Kunlun Mountains is the primary area to solidify and extend the success of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region,China in poverty alleviation.Its Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs)are intertwined with the concerted economic and social development of Xinjiang and the objective of achieving shared prosperity within the region.This study established a sustainable development evaluation framework by selecting 15 SDGs and 20 secondary indicators from the United Nations’SDGs.The aim of this study is to quantitatively assess the progress of SDGs at the county(city)level on the northern slope of the Kunlun Mountains.The results indicate that there are substantial variations in the scores of SDGs among the nine counties and one city located on the northern slope of the Kunlun Mountains.Notable high scores of SDGs are observed in the central and eastern regions,whereas lower scores are prevalent in the western areas.The scores of SDGs,in descending order,are as follows:62.22 for Minfeng County,54.22 for Hotan City,50.21 for Qiemo County,42.54 for Moyu County,41.56 for Ruoqiang County,41.39 for Qira County,39.86 for Lop County,38.25 for Yutian County,38.10 for Pishan County,and 36.87 for Hotan County.The performances of SDGs reveal that Hotan City,Lop County,Minfeng County,and Ruoqiang County have significant sustainable development capacity because they have three or more SDGs ranked as green color.However,Hotan County,Moyu County,Qira County,and Yutian County show the poorest performance,as they lack SDGs with green color.It is important to establish and enhance mechanisms that can ensure sustained income growth among poverty alleviation beneficiaries,sustained improvement in the capacity of rural governance,and the gradual improvement of social security system.These measures will facilitate the effective implementation of SDGs.Finally,this study offers a valuable support for governmental authorities and relevant departments in their decision-making processes.In addition,these results hold significant reference value for assessing SDGs at the county(city)level,particularly in areas characterized by low levels of economic development.

Differentiated Paths of Regional Green Development Driven by Industrial Enterprise Innovation

A fundamental shift in the regional development pattern is crucial to achieving a comprehensive green transformation in China.Currently,innovation-driven green development is a significant strategic option for regional development.As the main body of innovation and the basic unit of regional composition,enterprises have a profound impact on the development of regional economy,society,ecology,and other aspects.However,considering China’s vast territory and significant regional differences in natural environment and industrial structure,it’s necessary to further explore the specific impact paths of regional green development driven by enterprise innovation.Therefore,taking industrial enterprises as an example,based on the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2016 to 2020,this study verifies the impact of industrial enterprise innovation on the regional green development level by constructing a parallel multiple mediating effect model and dividing the economy into eastern,central,and western regions to discuss the specific impact paths.The results show that industrial enterprise innovation has a significant positive effect on regional green development level,via different influencing paths in each region:(1)The eastern region improves the regional green development level by narrowing the urban-rural income gap;(2)The central region improves the regional green development level by reducing resource dependence;and(3)The western region raises the regional green development level by improving the rationalization of industrial structure.

The Development of Khorgas Port in Xinjiang, China and Its Effect on Surrounding Towns

The sustainable development of border port-cities is of considerable significance to the stabilization and consolidation of border areas,unlike coastal-ports cities that consist of coastal ports and cities.Border ports should continue to drive the development of their surrounding towns to provide high-quality living conditions,employment,and housing for inhabitants of such towns and enhance the population agglomeration capacity of border areas.This study aimed to analyze the structure of employment and settlement in the cities surrounding the Khorgas Port at the different stages of its development—employing semi-structured interviews with individuals to analyze the spatial orientation characteristics of the daily needs of different groups of people and reveal the ways in which border ports drive the development of their surrounding towns—and recommend ways in which this can be improved.This study finds that as the Khorgas Port’s mutual trade market,industrial base,comprehensive management,and other functions continue to grow,the port is becoming increasingly important.As more people work and settl in the surrounding towns,their living needs also increase.However,a considerable number of employed people do not live nearby,and many living needs are not being addressed in the towns surrounding the port.The study also reveals the living services demands of government management personnel who work at the port on weekdays and return to Yining City on weekends,employees of industrial enterprises who work at the port and return home for the New Year’s celebration,and government management personnel and individual business personnel who work at the port and live nearby.In the future,the focus should be on improving the living conditions of the inhabitants of the towns surrounding Khorgas Port,including public services and the settlement ability of employees of industrial enterprises to better realize the radiation drive of the port on the surrounding towns.

Spatial Equity of Basic Education Resources and Coordinated Regional Development in Xinjiang, China

Public services,including education,are important elements that affect people’s living standards.Promoting spatial equity in education resources is a crucial indicator of China’s coordinated regional development in the new era.Xinjiang,a border area and home to many ethnic minorities,is a relatively underdeveloped region in China.Optimizing the cross-regional allocation of basic education resources and forming a coordinated regional development is of great significance for achieving the general goal of social stability and long-term peace in Xinjiang.This study adopts a spatial equity analysis framework that incorporates spatial scale,time dimension,factor indicators,and educational stages.The Gini coefficient is used to examine the variability of spatial equity of educational resources in Xinjiang.Results show that the spatial variability of educational resources in Xinjiang increases as the spatial scale becomes lower.The coefficients of variability at provincial,prefectural,and county levels are 0.207,0.257,and 0.302,respectively.The spatial variability shows an increasing trend before 2010 and decreases significantly after 2010.In terms of elementary indicators,the spatial variability of the number of schools per 10000 people is the largest,with Gini coefficients in the range of 0.207-0.302.The teacher-student ratio has a Gini coefficient in the range of 0.068-0.174,and class size has a Gini coefficient in the range of 0.040-0.058.In terms of educational stages,the spatial variability is most prominent in elementary schools,with a coefficient of variation of 0.246-0.339.Senior high schools have a coefficient of variation of 0.220-0.260,while junior high schools are the most balanced,with a coefficient of variation of0.181-0.235.The study also discussed the coupling and coordination relationship between educational resources and regional economic development in Xinjiang.Economic development plays a facilitating role in promoting balanced education,and the coupling and coordination is higher in northern Xinjiang than in southern Xinjiang.The 14 regions and states in Xinjiang form a high-high coordination type,a medium-medium coordination type,and a high-low uncoordinated type.Finally,the study analyzed the reasons for the spatial equity variability of educational resources,including administrative governance levels,information technology construction levels,common national language penetration,and superior talent attraction environments.

Dynamic Assessment and Sustainability Strategies of Ecological Security in the Irtysh River Basin of Xinjiang, China

The drylands of China are extensive,and they are home to more than one-third of the country’s population.However,the watershed territories of the drylands,where the majority of human activities are concentrated have long experienced strained human-land relationships,culminating in ecological security concerns.Correspondingly,it is essential to carry out a comprehensive assessment of the ecological security of dryland watersheds and to identify the key factors influencing ecological security in order to formulate strategies that ensure the sustainability of drylands.Premised on the Driving-Pressure-State-Impact-Response(DPSIR)model,this study developed an ecological security index and applied it to the Irtysh River Basin of Xinjiang,China,from 2000 to 2020.The obstacle degree model was applied to reveal the obstacles in two dimensions:criterion level and indicator level.The findings suggested that the ecological security comprehensive index in the Irtysh River Basin has increased significantly from 2000 to 2020,irrespective of the fact that it decreased during the study period and then increased.The ecological security level changed from‘critically safe’in 2000 to‘general safety’in 2020,with the state subsystem and pressure subsystem becoming ecological security weaknesses.The primary factors influencing the ecological security of the study area were water consumption,the area of high-efficiency water-saving irrigation,the proportion of wetland area,vegetation coverage,and livestock population.The ecological security of different counties in the basin varies greatly,whereas the factors that influence ecological security showed both similarities and differences among the counties.In light of on the findings,we proposed that future strategies for ecological security enhancement should concentrate on enacting the policy of localizing spatial differentiation,optimizing industrial structure,strengthening scientific and technological support in the field of water conservation,bolstering the treatment capacity of environmental facilities,and implementing the Mountains-Rivers-Forests-Farmlands-LakesGrasslands System to support the sustainable development of dryland watersheds.

Spatial-temporal Coupling Analysis of Economic Development-Social Development-Government Governance in Xinjiang, China

High-quality development of ethnic minority areas is a key issue in China’s economic and social transformation.In order to explore the development trend and optimization path of high-quality development in ethnic minority areas,this study constructed a systematic evaluation index system of economic development,social development and government governance.The coupled coordination model was adopted to quantitatively analyze the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics of economic development,social development and government governance in Xinjiang from 2013 to 2020.The influencing factors of coupling coordination development of the three systems were identified by grey correlation analysis.The spatial-temporal pattern analysis results show that the coupling coordination degree of Xinjiang increased steadily,but the regional differences gradually expanded.The coupling coordination degree shows a stable structure with high center and low periphery,and a spatial pattern of low in southern Xinjiang and high in northern Xinjiang.The results of grey correlation analysis show that the grey correlation degree among economic development,social development and government governance in Xinjiang is above 0.78.The three systems of economic development,social development and government governance interact with each other,forming a complex system of high-quality development in ethnic minority areas.To promote highquality development in Xinjiang,it should take social stability and long-term stability as the overall goal,improve the quality of the production and living environment on the basis of economic development,enhance regional economic competitiveness,and take government governance as a means to optimize the environment for regional development.

Assessing the dynamics of human activity intensity and its natural and socioeconomic determinants in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Investigating the spatiotemporal variation of human activity intensity and its determinants is a crucial basis for further revealing the mechanism of human-environment interaction and optimizing the human development mode.In this study,the human activity intensity on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau(QTP)from 1990 to 2020 was measured based on the quantitative model of land use data and the actual regional background,and the under-lying natural and socioeconomic determinants were investigated using spatial econometric methods.The results demonstrate that(1)the human activity intensity in QTP has increased by 11.96%,and there are differences in different spatial scales;the areas with high human activity intensity are distributed in the Hehuang Valley where Xining City and its surrounding areas are located,as well as the One-River and Two-River Area where Lhasa City and surrounding areas are located.(2)Human activity intensity has significant positive spatial spillover,suggesting that local changes will cause changes in the same direction in adjacent areas.(3)The human activ-ity intensity in QTP is affected by various determinants.Concerning socioeconomic factors,the economic level has no significant impact on the human activity intensity in QTP,which differs from the general regional law.Both urbanization and traffic conditions have a significant positive effect,and the impact intensity continues to increase.Concerning natural factors,topographic relief has a significant positive effect;the impacts of temper-ature and vegetation coverage have changed from insignificant to a significant positive effect;the impacts of precipitation and river network density have not been verified;there is no linear relationship between altitude and human activity intensity in the entire QTP,while it exists in local regions.Finally,this study proposes three policy implications for the realization of a more harmonious human-environment relationship in QTP.

Sustainable development problems and countermeasures:A case study of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau(QTP)is a region with unique and distinctive natural landscapes and cultural charac-teristics and presents a useful case to improve understanding of sustainable development for regions with extreme environments and unique social backgrounds.Research has been conducted for small-scale regions,however there has been insufficient exploration of the problems and countermeasures for sustainable development in Tibet.This study analyzes different functional zones(urbanized zones,agricultural zones,pastoral zones and ecological se-curity zones)of the QTP.Then it develops a sustainable livelihood index(SLI)based on the sustainable livelihood analysis framework resulting in three main findings.First,sustainable livelihoods vary greatly across functional zones.The SLI for farmers and herdsmen in the urbanized zones is the highest,with a value of 3.57,followed by the agricultural zones of 3.07.In comparison,the SLI values in the ecological security zones and pastoral zones are 2.92 and 2.85,respectively,indicating that the two zones present challenges for sustainable develop-ment in the QTP.Second,all counties had few natural,social or physical assets,indicating the need to expand assets to achieve sustainable livelihoods.Finally,urbanized and agricultural counties had more robust livelihood strategies than ecological and pastoral counties.In light of these results,strategic options have been formulated to promote sustainable development.These options include:accelerating construction of the third pole national park group;establishing a pattern of green mining;promoting the biological resources industry;and initiating a carbon trading market in the QTP.

Urban Spatial Carrying Capacity and Sustainable Urbanization in the Middle-east Section of North Slope of Kunlun Mountains in Xinjiang,China

Urban spatial carrying capacity is the comprehensive support capacity of natural resources for urban development,which is of great significance in guaranteeing the sustainable urbanization.The middle-east section of North Slope of Kunlun Mountains in Xinjiang,China,is characterized by harsh climate and sparse population,whereas it is important for the initiative of the new Silk Road Belt because of its important location.Cities in this area have begun to take shape,and the implementation of the Silk Road Belt Initiative will inevitably stimulate the urbanization in this area.The extent to which the cities in this area will be supported by natural resources and how to fulfill the requirements of sustainable socioeconomic development needs to be investigated.In view of this,the present study evaluated the urban spatial carrying capacity and discussed feasible approaches that could support the sustainable urbanization in this area.The results show that 97.59%of the study area belongs to the low and relatively low levels of spatial carrying capacity for urban construction,and the area of medium,relatively high and high levels is 1.12×104 km2,accounting for 2.41%of the total study area,mainly distributed in small clusters in the central alluvial fan oasis plains.Resource and environmental factors highly constrain urban construction,and low spatial matching of land and water resources,harsh climatic conditions and high risk of geological disasters are three major shortcomings.In addition,lagging transportation infrastructure construction and the resulting weak internal and external spatial connections also affect urban development.On this basis,the scientific arrangement of urban distribution,steady promotion of regional economic development based on local characteristics,further improvement of transportation infrastructure construction and strengthening the cooperation between the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps and local governments are suitable approaches for sustainable urbanization in the study area.

Evaluation of the sustainable development level of countries along the Belt and Road and its impact factors:Empirical analysis based on the Super-efficiency slacks-based measure and Tobit measure models

Sustainable development is an important component of the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI)and is of great significance for evaluating the levels of sustainable development of countries along this route(henceforth,BRI countries).Therefore,this study aims to identify the factors that influence the levels of sustainable development of BRI countries in a reasonable and objective manner.Eventually,this study employs the super efficiency slacks-based measure(Super-SBM)model,which considers unexpected outputs to measure the level of sustainable development of BRI countries.The dynamic change and composition of the sustainable development level of these countries are calculated using the global Malmquist-Luenberger index.Furthermore,the Tobit model is used to identify the factors influencing the level of sustainable development of BRI countries in general and in various categories.The empirical results suggest the following points.(a)The overall level of sustainable development of BRI countries is low,whereas those of high-income and middle-and high-income countries are relatively high.(b)The overall sustainable development levels of BRI countries declined to a certain extent in 2008 owing to the effect of the financial crisis,.However,the sustainable development level of other countries,barring low-income countries,has gradually increased since 2011.(c)Since 2008,technological progress has replaced technical efficiency as the main driving force behind the improvement of the sustainable development level of BRI countries.(d)A U-shaped relationship is observed between the economic and sustainable development levels of these countries.(e)The level of science and technology and the proportion of renewable energy consumption can promote the sustainable development of these countries.Moreover,a negative correlation exists between the level of opening to the outside world and that of sustainable development of countries that mainly export resource-based products and are dominated by labor-intensive export industries.Barring low-income countries,the energy structure plays an effective role in improving the level of sustainable development.Finally,the study presents suggestions for China in the process of coping with the sustainable development of relevant countries during its promotion of the BRI.

The spatial coupling characteristics between the construction of Qingzang National Park Cluster and the sustainable development of local communities

The development of Qingzang national park cluster is part of China’s efforts to establish a major ecological civi-lization project in the Qingzang Plateau,in line with global sustainable development goals.Based on preliminary scientific investigation and research in the Qingzang Plateau,the construction of the park cluster will include 21 national parks.To mitigate the conflict between conservation of the national park cluster and the develop-ment of local communities,this study proposes an analysis framework to identify the spatial coupling features between the national park cluster and sustainable development of communities.Four elements were selected to construct the analysis framework,including natural conditions,geographic location,cultural background,and national policies.This framework was applied to the 457 township communities within the 21 national parks.Results show the weak influence of the construction of the national park cluster for approximately 304 township communities,without significant spatial coupling traits,while the remaining 153 communities demonstrated significant spatial coupling features.These latter townships had developed four types of spatial coupling with na-tional parks,including eco-migrants,transportation hubs,characteristic cultures,and border development,which account for 17.4%,35.3%,19.8%,and 27.5%of the 153 townships respectively.A composite type with more than one spatial coupling feature was also found for 14 communities within the 153 townships.This provides a reference for policy making towards four major types of interactive modes between townships and the national park construction for the sustainable development of Qingzang Plateau.

Degree of coupling and coordination of eco-economic system and the influencing factors： a case study in Yanchi County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China

Based on the statistical data, we analyzed and evaluated the degree of coupling and coordination of the eco-economic system in Yanchi County for the period spanning from 1983 to 2014. The eco-economic system can be divided into socioeconomic and ecological sub-systems and their relationship can reveal the interaction state between the two sub-systems and help the local government to establish a coordinated development mode. An index system was constructed to assess the development of the two sub-systems before the evaluation of the degree of coupling and coordination. The principal component regression analysis was adopted to quantitatively assess the influences of natural, economic and social factors on the degree of coupling and coordination of the eco-economic system. Results showed that, from 1983 to 2014, the development trends of both sub-systems were increasing with the ecological sub-system having more fluctuations. The degree of coupling and coordination of the eco-economic system in the study area increased gradually from 1983 to 2014, but experienced five different development stages from the verge of disorder to favorable coordination. The development of the local social and economic conditions was the most important factor influencing the degree of coupling and coordination. The second most important factor was the financial support from the local government. In addition, the environment protection policies also played undeniable roles. Due to the diversity of the influence factors, the government should take comprehensive measures to promote the sustainable development of the eco-economic system.

Quantitative Analysis of Natural and Human Factors of Oasis Change in the Tail of Shiyang River over the Past 60 Years

The human and natural factors complicit in the driving forces of oasis change have always received considerable interest from the international research community. In this study, we used principal component analysis of natural and socio-economic statistical factors to quantitatively analyze the causal relationships and their contributions to the observed periodic expansion or shrinkage of the Minqin Oasis over almost 60 years. Our results show that human factors were the dominant factors governing expansion or shrinkage, with average contributions of 69.38% and 76.16%, respectively. Moreover, policy decisions have been the pivotal human factors. Under the influence of various policies, we have found that water resource utilization, land reclamation, population explosion, ecological protection and economic development have each played leading roles in different periods. This study provides a scientific basis for modelling the dynamics of an oasis for sustainable management.

Economics,fundamentals,technology,finance,speculation and geopolitics of crude oil prices:an econometric analysis and forecast based on data from 1990 to 2017

It is of real and direct significance for China to cope with oil price fluctuations and ensure oil security. This paper aims to quantitatively analyze the specific contribution ratios of the complex factors influencing international crude oil prices and to establish crude oil price models to forecast long-term international crude oil prices. Six explanatory influential variables, namely Dow Jones Indexes, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development oil stocks, US rotary rig count, US dollar index, total open interest, which is the total number of outstanding contracts that are held by market participants at the end of each day, and geopolitical instability are specified, and the samples, from January 1990 to August 2017, are divided into six sub-periods. Moreover, the co-integration relationship among variables shows that the contribution ratios of all the variables influencing Brent crude oil prices are in accordance with the corresponding qualitative analysis. Furthermore, from September 2017 to December 2022 outside of the sample, the Vector Autoregressive forecasts show that annually averaged Brent crude oil prices for 2017-2022 would be $53.0, $61.3, $74.4, $90.0, $105.5, and $120.7 per barrel, respectively. The Vector Error Correction forecasts show that annual average Brent crude oil prices for 2017-2022 would be $53.0, $56.5, $58.5, $60.7, $63.0 and $65.4 per barrel, respectively.

Spatial Differentiation Characteristics of Human Settlements and Their Responses to Natural and Socioeconomic Conditions in the Marginal Zone of an Uninhabited Area,Changtang Plateau,China

The Changtang Plateau(CTP)in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China is one of the top-10 uninhabited areas with the most important ecological value in the world.It is of great academic and practical significance to carry out research on human settlements in the marginal zones of the uninhabited areas to promote harmonious coexistence between humans and nature on the CTP.Using high-definition remote-sensing images to visually interpret and identify settlement-patch data,combined with field investigations,this study explores the spatial characteristics of human settlements in Shuanghu and Nyima counties and their responses to natural and socioeconomic conditions in the hinterland of the CTP.Findings reveal that the scale of human settlements on the CTP is extremely small,and density is very sparse.Settlements on the CTP primarily consist of several households,with some containing more than a dozen households,or are sub-village scale.Socioeconomic development is low and socioeconomic factors have a weak influence on the settlement layout on the CTP.Natural factors are the core elements affecting the layout of human settlements on the CTP.Settlements tend to occur on low mountains,gentle slopes,and areas with high average annual temperatures.Careful settlement site selection can help to mitigate the impact of natural disasters.To meet the needs of grazing,settlement layouts must typically have a high-quality grassland orientation.Riverbanks are key settlement areas,and settlement sites are often far away from alpine salt lakes.The characteristics of settlements on the CTP and their responses to environmental conditions significantly differ from those of human settlements in low-altitude inland areas.

Drivers of Regional Environmental Pollution Load and Zoning Control:A Case Study of the Yangtze River Economic Belt,China

The high environmental pollution load caused by the massive pollutant emissions and the accumulation of endogenous and cross-regional pollution has become an important obstacle to the current ecological civilization construction in the Yangtze River Economic Belt(YREB)in China.Taking the YREB as an example,by using four environmental pollutant emission indicators,including chemical oxygen demand(COD),ammonia nitrogen(NH_(3)-N),sulfur dioxide(SO_(2)),and nitrogen oxides(NO_(x)),this paper established an environmental pollution load index(EPLI)based on the entropy-based measurement.Moreover,the Spatial Durbin Model was used to quantitatively analyze the drivers and spatial effects of environmental pollution load.Finally,specific scientific references were provided for formulating environmental regulations of pollution source control in the YREB.The results showed that:1)During2011-2015,the EPLI in the YREB was reduced significantly and the environmental pollution load increased from upstream to downstream.Among them,the pollution load levels in the Upper Mainstream subbasin,Taihu Lake subbasin,and Lower Mainstream subbasin were the most prominent.2)The environmental pollution load situation in the YREB was generally stable and partially improved.High load level areas were mainly concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta Region and the provincial borders in upstream,midstream,and downstream areas.The high load level areas already formed in Chengdu and Chongqing were also the key regulatory points in the future.3)The degree of local environmental pollution load was apparently affected by the adjacent cities.The population size,industrialization level,and the fiscal decentralization not only drove the increase of the local environmental pollution load level,but also affected the adjacent areas through the spatial spillover effects.The land development intensity mainly drove the increase in the local EPLI in the YREB.While factors such as economic development level and agricultural economic share could only act on the environmental pollution load process in adjacent cities.4)According to the differentiation characteristics of drivers of each city,the YREB was divided into seven zones based on k-medoids cluster method,and targeted zoning control policy recommendations for alleviating environmental pollution load in the YREB were proposed.

Quantification of restricting factors of agricultural development in Min County of Gansu, China

Agricultural development in povertystricken areas is a major problem affecting agricultural modernization in China. This study discusses the restrictive factors affecting agricultural development in impoverished areas in China. A typical impoverished mountainous area, Min County,was selected for a case study. A regression analysis on the factors and characteristics of agricultural development in Min County between 1982 and 2017 was performed in this study. Taking agricultural output as the dependent variable, we selected nine main inputs of agricultural production in impoverished mountainous areas as the independent variables. Ridge regression analysis was carried out by testing for unit root and co-integration to verify the equilibrium relationship of the data. The results showed that the real Gross domestic product(GDP)per capita, the non-grain area ratio, the proportion of government expenditure on agriculture support to total expenditure, and the amount of chemical fertilizer applied in unit cultivated land area were the four most significant factors. The proportion of government expenditure on agriculture support to total expenditure was a negative influence, whereas the other three significant factors had a positive influence on agricultural output. This study highlights about the most significant factors affecting the agricultural development of impoverished mountainous regions in China.

Practice and Challenge of International Peer Review: A Case Study of Research Evaluation of CAS Centers for Excellence

Purpose: The main goal of this paper is to show that international peer review can work in China’s context with satisfactory outcomes. Moreover, this paper also provides a reference for the practice of science and technology management.Design/methodology/approach: This paper starts with a discussion of two critical questions about the significance and design of international peer review. A case study of international peer review of CAS Centers for Excellence is further analyzed. Findings: International peer review may provide a solution to address the problem of quantitative oriented research evaluation in China. The case study of research evaluation of CAS Centers for Excellence shows that it is possible and feasible to conduct an international peer review in China’s context. When applying this approach to other scenarios, there are still many issues to consider including individualized design of international peer review combined with practical demands, and further improvement of theories and methods of international peer review. Research limitation: 1) Only the case of international peer review of CAS Centers for Excellence is analyzed;2) A relatively small number of respondents were surveyed in the questionnaire. Practical implications: The work presented in this study can be used as a reference for future studies.Originality/value: Currently, there are no similarly detailed studies exploring the significance and methodology of international peer review in China.

Establishing a Carbon-Neutrality Oriented Economic System through Green, Low-carbon, and Circular Development

Carbon neutrality requires a profound socio-economic revolution.Since the 21;century,China has been promoting social&economic transformation,and put forward a series of strategic directions for development transformation.As China enters the new era of socialism,building a green,low-carbon and circular economic system has become an important direction for future economic development and transformation.This paper analyzes the relationship between the green,low-carbon and circular economic system and carbon neutrality,and points out that green development,low-carbon development and circular development will greatly reduce carbon emissions of economic development and help realize the carbon goal through co-benefit effect,structural adjustment and resource recycling.Finally,the paper puts forward some suggestions for promoting the transformation of the economic system to green,low-carbon and circular development.