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• Part of UN sustainable development goal 9 is upgrading production capabilities. • Increasing economic complexity is a key driver for sustainable economic growth. • Sequential model selection used for robust generalised method of moments estimation. • Chinese FDI evidently shows a positive impact on host countries' economic complexity. • Global policy makers should deepen their relationships with the belt and road. Upgrading the production capabilities in all countries is a target of the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goal 9. Increasing economic complexity, that is, a country's ability to manufacture more sophisticated products and thus moving up the value chain, is a key driver for sustainable economic growth. This paper investigates whether Chinese Belt and Road investments have impacted the economic complexity of host countries — a topic not addressed in the literature to date, using a sequential generalised method of moments model selection approach. The research focuses on the countries whose economic complexities are below that of China. Our empirical results show significant positive effects of Chinese investments on such host countries' economic complexities. The inflows of Chinese investments have thus supported the upgrading of production capabilities in these countries. This is encouraging, especially for the Global South countries, to intensify their interactions with the Belt and Road initiative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Examine how the cross-border M&As strategies adopted by Chinese listed firms are affected by host countries' GVC embeddedness. • Firms are more likely to conduct large-scale M&As when a host country has higher backward GVC embeddedness and a relatively lower position within GVC. • Host countries' capital intensities, total factor productivity, and labor productivity moderate firm M&A location preferences along GVC. The global value chain (GVC) position of a host country is an important benchmark for firms from home countries to determine their degree of embeddedness within the chain and implement corresponding internationalization strategies. Although there have been a certain number of existing studies related to GVC from various aspects, the links between a host country's GVC embeddedness and firm-level cross-border activities stemming from home countries are surprisingly unexplored in the current literature. This study fills this gap and applies the feasible generalized least squares model to examine how the cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) strategies adopted by Chinese listed firms from 2005 to 2015 are affected by host countries' GVC embeddedness, with particular reference to their forward and backward embeddedness as well as the degree of participation along GVC. It is found that Chinese firms are more likely to conduct large-scale cross-border M&As when a host country has higher backward GVC embeddedness and a relatively lower position within GVC. This conclusion remains robust after considering alternative indices, sample range adjustments, and issues of self-selection bias. Further empirical discussions show that the Belt and Road Initiative results in more balanced M&A structures. Additionally, it is empirically demonstrated that host countries' capital intensities, total factor productivity, and labor productivity moderate Chinese firm M&A location preferences along GVC. This paper has far-reaching policy implications for the internationalization strategies adopted by Chinese firms and offers important insights into how firms could effectively utilize cross-border M&As to conduct optimal international investments around the globe. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The location and layout of container multimodal hubs have received much research attention under the Belt and Road Initiative. To explore the spatial distribution pattern of international container multimodal hubs (ICMHs) and its influencing factors in China, this paper measures the domestic connectivity, international land connectivity, international rail-sea multimodal connectivity and comprehensive connectivity of ICMHs. Spatial analysis methods are used to explore the spatial patterns of ICMH connectivity, and then spatial regression models are applied to detect those key factors that influence its distribution. Results reveal that ICMH connectivity has significant spatial differences and obvious distribution trends across China and that such connectivity gradually decreases from east to west. The significant spatial agglomeration characteristic of connectivity is also highlighted. Specifically, a high connectivity is concentrated in the east and close to exit ports (land exit-ports and seaports), whereas a low connectivity is distributed in the expansive western areas. Results of the spatial regression also show that each factor has significant spatial heterogeneity with respect to connectivity distribution, especially freight turnover volume and investment in transportation. This study provides support for the layout of logistics hubs in multimodal networks and enriches the application of the connectivity method. • Spatial patterns of multimodal transport hubs in China was explored. • Multiple connectivity indexes of hubs were estimated under the Belt and Road Initiative. • A significant spatial disparity and trend distribution of hub connectivity was revealed. • Some factors had spatial heterogeneity on the connectivity distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changsha Kiln rose and flourished alongside the development of China's Maritime Silk Road (8th–9th century). The kiln occupies an important place in the development of China's ceramic science and technology, notably as the source of high-temperature copper-red glaze. A variety of lime-colored glaze was one product of Changsha Kiln. Its surface was decorated with both copper-green and copper-red, and is the earliest known example of the successful firing of a copper-red glaze. This ware is representative of the birth of high-temperature copper-red glaze, but there has been a lack of research on its optical properties and the technology's origin. In this paper, OM, SEM, TEM, optical coherence tomography (OCT), XRF, fiber optic spectrometry, and other analytical techniques were used to investigate the red and green glazes of Changsha Kiln. The key result of this paper is to reveal the optical properties of copper-green and copper-red in combination with colloidal absorption, ion absorption, and scattering, and to study the key factors for the origin of the high-temperature copper red glaze. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses the Belt and Road Initiative (B&R), an exogenous innovative model of economic integration proposed by China, to examine the growth effects of economic integration on local economies. From 2013 to 2019, more than 120 countries successively participated in the B&R, which intensified the regional integration and interdependence of B&R countries. Employing a difference-in-differences estimation methodology that exploits the cross-country, cross-time variation in the timing of participation in the Belt and Road Initiative, the author finds that the Belt and Road Initiative materially improved the economic performance of local economies, with particularly strong effects for lower-income countries. This paper also provides suggestive evidence that the growth effects can be interpreted in terms of foreign trade and foreign direct investment inwards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 2013 launch of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which has long been recognized as one of the most complex international cooperation activities, a large proportion of the 90 billion in Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) in the regions constituting the BRI, has flowed into the transport infrastructure sector. Chinese enterprises select transport infrastructure locations as an effective way to mitigate the uncertainties associated with institutional voids in host countries that undermine the functioning of market institutions and expose investors to additional risks. Theoretically, drawing on institutional theory, we propose that bilateral diplomatic activities between host countries and China can serve as an effective risk-reduction mechanism, while institutional distance and common land borders have significant moderating effects on this process. Empirically, based on a unique set of data manually collected from the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, our Poisson count regression and negative binomial regression analysis results generally confirm our hypotheses. Implications for both researchers and practitioners are discussed at the end of the paper. • This paper empirically tests bilateral diplomatic activities' impact on transport infrastructure investment. • Institutional distance and land common border play significant moderate effects. • Manually collected qualitative data from Chinese government official website is used in empirical analysis. • Regression models for count data are applied to prove our hypothesis and the results are positive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is outward-looking, being part of China's 'Going Out Strategy' while Africa's current regional infrastructure programmes are primarily inward-looking as they seek to deepen the continent's regional integration. This paper argues, drawing from international cooperation theory, that China and Africa can cooperate in implementing BRI despite the apparent conflict in their infrastructure connectivity aspirations. They can coordinate their policies for the purpose of mutual benefit through enhanced connectivity and trade between Africa and China on the one hand and deepened African regional integration and intra-African trade on the other. This could be achieved by using Africa's regional programmes as building blocks for cooperation in BRI. This paper also highlights lessons from BRI that Africa could use to fast-track implementation of its own initiatives including the mobilisation of stakeholders by political leaders, creation of dedicated institutions and funds, and building of local capacity in the infrastructure sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper ranks the important logistics nodes across the complex China Railway Express (CR express) network from the Belt and Road Initiative perspective. • Moscow ranks the first in the node's importance in the CR express transport network; Guangzhou and Beihai rank the top two seaport nodes. • This paper confirms the accuracy and practicability of the structural hole theory in the importance ranking of nodes in the complex network. • This paper contributes to optimising the structure of CR express transport network and improving the network stability. China Railway Express (CR express) refers to the regular container trains transporting between China and European countries under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This paper aims to conduct the systematic and in-depth research on the importance ranking of logistics nodes across the complex CR express network from China's national plan of the BRI perspective, with consideration of the connectivity between the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road (MSR) and the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB). In doing so, first, it sets up the complex network in the CR express transport. Second, based on the restraint coefficients in the theory of structural hole such as network scale, efficiency, grading and clustering co-efficiency, this paper applies the Multiple Attribute Decision Making (MADM) model in association with algorithm development in calculating the importance of the CR express nodes including both inland nodes and seaport nodes. The paper has three-fold contributions. In theory, it confirms the accuracy and practicability of the structural hole theory in the importance ranking of nodes in the complex network. In practice, it identifies important logistics nodes of CR express network across the BRI. Further, the findings in the paper contribute to optimising the structure of CR express transport and improving its network stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction of the United States-led Indo-Pacific (IPAC) and the China-led Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is an exercise in power to reshape the geopolitics of Asia-Pacific. Under the IPAC metageography, China is potentially excluded while the US's security border is extended to the Indian Ocean. BRI, on the other hand, has been advanced as an alternative model of economic globalization and diplomacy that is characterized by open and fluid borders. In this paper, we draw on a geoeconomic lens using oil/gas and the solar energy trade to shed light on Asia-Pacific's changing metageography. Power is constituted through relational coupling and decoupling as China and the US are locked in geoeconomic competition that expands but also contracts imaginaries of the region. The findings suggest that neither China nor the US holds a relational advantage in all energy sectors; each country however leads in sub-sectors. China, BRI and Asian IPAC are all significant importers of US oil and gas while China's solar trade has accelerated regional integration that includes the US. The paper concludes that China's exclusion from IPAC is not consistent with the geoeconomic realities of energy trade. BRI on the other hand has staked its success as an anti-colonial space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Along with the evolution of the international division of labor, trade openness is increasingly affecting species diversity in a profound way, driving an accelerated loss of species diversity. However, current research rarely discusses the mechanism of action between the two. To fill this gap, this paper based on the input and output model quantified the trade-off between economic efficiency and species diversity in global supply chain by centering on a dynamic evolution of embodied species loss driven by trade openness. The results show that effect coefficients of trade openness on embodied species loss is positive which means trade openness exacerbates the level of species loss; Regression results distinguishing the stages of species loss show that increasing the level of trade openness can exacerbate species loss in samples with higher levels of loss. Heterogeneity analysis finds that increased trade openness in developing economies can exacerbate the rate of species loss. Mechanistic tests find that trade openness affects species loss mainly by enhancing the level of technological progress and mitigating the size of the labor force; Machine learning models reveal a nonlinear trend of trade openness on species loss. This paper proposes relevant policy implications: countries should correctly balance the relationship between trade openness and species loss, focus on optimizing the structure of import and export trade, and reduce species loss while improving the trade openness system. • Trade openness exacerbates the level of embodied species loss • The effect of trade openness on embodied species loss has a non-linear effect. • We examine this relationship in the Belt and Road countries • The underlying mechanisms and transmission pathways are identified • An "technological progress effect" and a "labor scale effect" are highlighted [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• China's NOCs go global balancing profitability and national energy security. • The state as an extra-firm actor matters in the globalization process of lead firms. • FABS firms assist China's NOCs in cross-listing in world cities and registering in offshore jurisdictions. • Geopolitical risks arise from and significantly impact both GPNs and GFNs. • The case study reveals the intersection of state–firm nexus, global financial networks, and geopolitical risks. Both the "going global" strategy and the Belt and Road Initiative have prompted Chinese companies to carry out overseas investment and global financing. China's three major national oil companies (NOCs), China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec), and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) have pursued "modernization through globalization" while balancing profitability and national energy security. This paper attempts to shed some light on NOCs' going global process by integrating global production networks' (GPNs) extra-firm (state–firm) relations and global financial networks' (GFNs) emphasis on world cities and financial and advanced business services providers. Going global, however, has also increased NOCs' geopolitical risks, resulting in a retreat from the financial centers of world cities and a return home. This paper contributes to the GPN/GFN literature by examining the interactions between lead firms from developing economies and extra-firm actors while also emphasizing the increasing significance of geopolitical risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the heterogeneous impact of transportation infrastructure on trade-embodied CO 2 emission (TEC) transfer. First, a multi-scale input-output (MSIO) model is developed to analyze the TEC from 31 Chinese provinces to 64 Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries. Then, the panel quantile regression and Markov Chain Monte Carlo optimization methods are applied to estimate the impact of transportation infrastructure on TEC, taking into account the provincial heterogeneity. The main results are as follows: (1) The TEC of China's exports to BRI countries amounted to 311.01 Mt CO 2 annually from 2012 to 2016, with significant variations in TEC characteristics among different Chinese provinces. (2) China's transportation infrastructure network density (TID) predominantly exhibited a negative impact on exported TEC across various quantiles. Specifically, a 1% increase in TID was associated with a decrease in TEC ranging from approximately 0.25% to 3.99%. (3) As quantiles increased, the impact of transportation-converted turnover in China on TEC also rose, with a range of 0.66% to 0.94%. This study identifies the crucial regions and sectors of TEC from a 'provincial-national-global' multi-scale perspective, and implies that strengthening the construction of transportation infrastructure may improve the marginal effect of industrial structure transformation and environmental improvement brought about by trade activity. [Display omitted] • The 'provincial-national-global' multi-scale input-output model is established. • This study identifies the crucial regions and sectors of the trade-embodied CO 2. • Nonlinear nexus between trade-embodied CO 2 and transportation infrastructure is analyzed. • Heterogeneity manifested in exported trade-embodied CO 2 of Chinese provinces. • Transportation infrastructure has greater action on trade-embodied CO 2 in 75-90th quantiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green economic growth and sustainable development are inextricably linked, and encouraging green economic growth has practical implications in today's world. In this context, this study examines the impact of environmental regulation on renewable energy development and China's green economy from 1990 to 2018. We look at how environmental regulations affect green economic growth and renewable energy technologies. Using the Meta frontier SBM model's super-efficient data envelopment analysis, it is possible to determine the relative level of green economic growth in China's provinces based on their energy efficiency. Environmental regulations were also assessed using an improved fuzzy inclusive appraisal method. Finally, we investigate the possible mechanism and discuss our findings. The study discovered an unreliable indicator of green growth during the research period, attributed to the non-serious nature of government strategies. The results show that the DEA method consistently confirms how the piece is put together. On the other hand, the sub-results models invariably affect countries with high GDP per capita. Finally, the impact of environmental regulations on the growth of renewable energy sources was studied. Green economic growth depends on environmental regulation policies, which contribute significantly to renewable energy development. Population size, economic development level, technological innovation, industrial structure, urbanization, environmental regulation, and FDI influence green economic growth, but the spatial effect of each influencing factor varies. The findings of this paper form the basis for China's pursuit of green economic growth and the development of renewable energy policies. • Proposed a novel framework on R & D expenditures, low carbon energy transition and green economic growth. • Study analyzes the effects of the multiple R & D expenditures in the context of Belt & Road Initiative economies. • Dynamic linking is considered when the connections of players' change. • Established vibrant empirical model and suggested implications for green economic recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) and Maritime Silk Road (MSR) provide important avenues for cargo transport between China and Europe. This paper addresses the issues of the subsidy for China-Europe Railway Express (CERE) on the SREB and the sulfur emission control for liner shipping on the MSR from a perspective of building a community of shared future for mankind. Two welfare maximization models are proposed for determining the optimal subsidy and the optimal sulfur emission control coverage within which the sulfur in ships' fuel oil is required to be less than 0.1%. One considers the competition between two transport modes (CERE and liner shipping), in which their own net profit is maximized. The other concerns the cooperation between two modes, in which their total net profit is maximized. The properties of the two models are analytically explored and compared. The results show that intermodal competition outperforms intermodal cooperation in terms of social welfare, consumer surplus, and environmental pollution, though at the cost of carrier profit and total subsidy from the regulator. The regulator may efficiently control the adverse impacts of an increase in the fuel oil price or in the marginal cost of air pollution on the social welfare of the system through adjusting the CERE subsidy and the sulfur emission control coverage. • Address the issues of the optimal subsidy for China-Europe Railway Express and the optimal emission control coverage for liner shipping on Maritime Silk Road. • Propose social welfare maximization models under the competition and cooperation of the China-Europe Railway Express and liner shipping. • Intermodal competition outperforms intermodal cooperation in terms of social welfare, consumer surplus, and environmental pollution, though at the cost of carrier profit and total subsidy from the regulator. • The regulator may efficiently control the adverse impacts of fuel oil price rise through adjusting the subsidy for China-Europe Railway Express and the sulfur emission control coverage for liner shipping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the form of satellite ephemerides and clock parameters, the space datum and system time information of one global navigation satellite system (GNSS) is transferred to users. With the continuous updating in the satellite payload such as the high-precision atomic clock, the monitoring and tracking technique such as the inter-satellite link, and in the data processing technique, the accuracy and real-time performance of the satellite ephemeris and clock error products are steadily improved. Starting from December 27th, 2018, the BeiDou Navigation System 3, or BDS-3, has provided the accurate and reliable basic positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) service for the users in the countries within the "one belt and one road". This paper has summarized the faced challenges of the precise orbit determination and time synchronization from the regional BDS-2 system to the BDS-3 global system, and the specific solutions at the control segment. In addition, this paper has compared the BDS with other GNSS systems in terms of technical characteristics. Finally, aiming at a higher accuracy and more reliable PNT service, the road map of precise orbit determination and time synchronization technique for the next generation navigation systems is discussed, which will provide a reference for developing the global navigation satellite systems with an even higher accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relocation nature of manufacturing industries involves searching for the lowest location and production costs. This paper proposes a method of analysing the relocation of manufacturing industries from the perspective of field theory based on location accessibility. First, this paper analogizes the "diffusion" and "agglomeration" of manufacturing firms to the physical potential of field theory and proposes a manufacturing industry pattern field. Second, location accessibility, consisting of labour, land rent and multimodal transport costs, is considered the potential of the manufacturing industry pattern field. Finally, the potential relocation trends of nine specific manufacturing industries in the Belt and Road Sino-Europe Economic Corridor are analysed. The results indicate that China and Singapore play a dual role in manufacturing relocation trends. At the same time, manufacturing industries will relocate to Southeast Asia, India, the Middle East and Central/Eastern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban rail development can increase land value, reduce commute time, and increase accessibility, as reported in the literature. However, little is known about the impact of opening urban rail transit stations on people's sentiment, particularly in the context of large metropolises where population density is significantly high. This paper investigates such impact by studying six new transit stations opened in Hong Kong. People's sentiment and activity in station nearby areas are estimated by tweet sentiment and tweet activity. We use the difference-in-difference model to study the impact of opening new transit stations. Tweet sentiment, tweet activity, tweet content, and footprints of people who visit the station-influenced area 'before and after' the opening of transit stations are analyzed. The results suggest that, in general, the introduction of transit stations causes a positive change in tweet activity, and the change is statistically significant after six months. Regarding tweet sentiment, new transit stations tend to pose a mixed effect in a short-term, a positive influence on areas with high-density residential places, yet a negative influence on areas with a large proportion of nature reserve areas. These short-term effects, positive or negative, become not significant in the long term (after twelve months). Our analysis also confirmed that the introduction of new transit stations increased accessibility from (to) other parts of the city to(from) the station's nearby area, which was shown by the expanded locations sustaining users visited. These findings indicate that the urban rail transit system in Hong Kong promotes more active neighborhoods yet does not always promotes positive influence on people's sentiment. Further studies are needed to make future urban rail transit systems promoting active and happy neighborhoods. The study is relevant to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in methodologies, data, and findings. The social media analysis method used in this study, including text mining and sentiment analysis, can be easily extended to multiple language analysis for Singapore, Malaysia, as well as other regions in the belt and road plan. The developed tools could contribute to analyzing the influence of cross-country projects on local neighborhoods in the belt and road plan. • This study assessed the effect of new transit station on people's activity and sentiment via social media data. • Methods on analyzing Twitter data in Hong Kong are developed. • The introduction of new transit stations increases tweet activity in nearby areas. • New transit stations yet not always promote positive changes on tweet sentiment in nearby areas. • The methodologies, data, and findings are applicable to other regions in the Belt and Road Initiative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Belt and road initiative does not trigger the debt trap of participating countries. • China's economic policy uncertainty has intermediary effects on the scale of the external debt for the belt & road participating countries. • The effects of China's economic policy uncertainty on belt-road countries' external debt exist the structural differences. • The effects of China's economic policy uncertainty on total external debts in the participating countries are mainly attributable to the effect on the private sector debt. This paper investigates the effects of China's economic policy uncertainty on external debts in countries involved in the Belt & Road Initiative. We first investigate an investment decision model to show heterogeneous effects on public and private debts. We then estimate such effects with recent data using a Propensity Score Matching (PSM)-Difference in Difference (DID) approach. We find that China's economic policy uncertainty has intermediary effects on the scale of the external debt For the Belt & Road participating countries. We also show that there exists a significant difference in the effects on external public and private debts. The effects of economic policy uncertainty on total external debts in the participating countries are mainly attributable to the effect on the private sector debt rather than the public sector debt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the Belt and Road countries, where the geopolitics is complex and the economic development is uneven, the exchange rate volatility is a quite important issue. Each Belt and Road country's exchange rate volatility is not only related to each other countries' exchange rate volatility, but also related to some other exogeneous variables. This paper mainly conduct research on the spillover effect of two exogeneous variables, VIX and oil price, on the exchange rate volatility among Belt and Road countries. The results suggest that VIX's spillover effect on the whole Belt and Road exchange rate volatility network changes differently after the launch of Belt and Road Initiative in the short and long term. Besides, the oil price's spillover effect on the exchange rate volatility alongside Belt and Road region shows different features for the oil export country and the oil import country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the inception of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013, the associated infrastructure and transport and economic corridor developments have been widely addressed in the research field of transportation, logistics and supply chain management. Such developments open windows of opportunity for accommodating trade flows in new or upgraded intermediate hub nodes and gateway locations along the BRI corridors. This paper aims to propose strategic locations for global logistics distribution centers (LDCs) along the Belt and Road from the viewpoint of China, considering regional economic and trade blocks, maritime transport routes, China's overseas port developments, China Railway Express services, trade conflicts between China and US, and deteriorated mobility of resources and human power caused by COVID-19. We present a set of strategic locations for establishing LDCs by analyzing qualitative and quantitative facility location factors supported by the findings in existing literature. Eight locations for global LDCs are identified in the Sub-Saharan region, Sri Lanka, the Middle East, Northern Oceania, Southern Europe, Northern Europe, and key dry hub port locations in Minsk, Belarus and Northeast Asia along the Silk Road Economic Belt. Furthermore, we present a research agenda with applicable methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although trade does not only boost the economy but also exacerbates environmental transfers but still the evidence for air pollution's unequal exchange embodied in trade among the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries is rarely discussed in the extant literature. From the perspective of an integrated evaluation framework comprising a multi-regional input-output model, system balance theory, and complex network theory, this research paper uncovers the spatial- and temporal changes of trade-induced air pollution inequality among countries along the BRI route for the time period from 2011 to 2016. The study findings point out that there exists an obvious spatial heterogeneity in the unequal relations among BRI economies. This implies that a large number of country pairs demonstrate weak inequalities, whereas a relatively small number of country pairs represent strong inequalities. In addition, the countries' positions indicate a unique characteristic of "duality and inverse", which is majorly manifested as pure causers represented by Moldova and Belarus, net beneficiaries symbolized by China and Russia, and pure victims exemplified by Bhutan. Meanwhile, nearly half of the dual identities are represented by Singapore. Besides this, the proposal and implementation of the BRI exert a positive influence on both system stability and inequality mitigation by supporting the balance of triangles. Finally, this paper posits that the environmental inequality system of the Belt and Road is not as complex as imagined since the 3-node motif classification is relatively simple. Our findings are helpful for mitigating air pollution inequalities so as to support the sustainable development of green BRI. • Evolution of the environmental inequality in BRI countries is studied. • The initiative exerts a positive influence on stability and inequality mitigation. • Most countries illustrate a feature of "duality and inverse". • Five identified subgraphs indicate that the system is predictable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper explores a new development direction of the BRI in the transitional period towards the post-COVID-19 era from the Chinese perspective. • Nine research agendas are suggested to revitalize the infrastructure projects of the BRI in association with global logistics distribution centers along the Belt and Road. • Each agenda is addressed with its motivation, significance, and a few applicable and representative methods. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, its impacts have been envisaged in multi-dimensional ways, including global supply chains, international logistics, and transportation. Owing to a series of virus variants since 2020, several Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects have been halted along the Belt and Road (B&R), and their implementation progress has been affected. In addition, China, which initiated the BRI in 2013, has been facing challenges which are caused by its economic, socio-demographic, and international political structural changes. Moreover, growing conflicts and tensions in international trade and politics, such as the war between Russia and Ukraine, China-US trade conflicts, foreign companies' reshoring the production lines from China, and diplomatic disputes between China and Australia, have been interwoven with the impacts of COVID-19 on the supply chains, international trade, and transportation in the world. Having considered the above, this study explores a new research-driven approach to reignite the BRI momentum in the transitional period towards the post-COVID-19 era from a Chinese economic perspective. In doing so, this paper proposes nine research agendas, such as the optimization network of transportation and logistics distribution centers (LDCs) along the B&R, priority development and performance of LDCs, greening the B&R with green shipping corridors, revisiting port devolution continuum, humanitarian logistics in association with COVID-19, security and risk analysis of China's energy supply chains, and export of the 6th Generation Ports (6GP) model with smart ports to major container ports along the port supply chains. Each research agenda is addressed with its motivation, significance, and applicable and representative methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2008, the financial crisis caused by the SUBPRIME mortgage crisis and the development of information technology showed that people's life was gradually networked and digitized, and the digital currency represented by Bitcoin was generated. This paper discusses the investment opportunities and risks brought by the rise of digital currency and its importance to the development of "One Belt And One Road". We propose a currency digital venture capital model based on information entropy, BP neural network and CVaR model. The model is divided into two parts. Part A is the research on the risk index model of digital currency based on the information entropy change of CVaR model. Part B is by BP neural network toolbox and CVaR model changing weights of digital currency risk index model, and analyse the development of digital currency weighted score to get the advantage of the Yangtze river delta region. It is of practical significance to build a venture capital model to predict the future development prospect of digital currency and get an investment model with more beneficial returns for investors to avoid risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional mobility of economic production factors accelerates the globalization of the associated economies and impacts firm diffusion trends. The Belt and Road Initiative aims to facilitate the orderly flow of economic production factors along the Sino-Europe Economic Corridor. However, little is known about the effects of locational accessibility on firm relocations with such an initiative. Conceptualizing locational accessibility based on elementary production factors, this paper proposed a methodological framework to analyze the potential firm diffusion trends by applying the percolation theory in a multimodal freight supernetwork. The empirical analysis concerns two typical manufacturing industries along the Sino-Europe Economic Corridor. The results show that the percolation transition happens during the diffusion of the two manufacturing industries considering land rent, labor cost, and freight transport cost as the elementary production factors. It is found that the improvement in transport accessibility accelerates the diffusion trends of the manufacturing industries, although the bottleneck regions for the diffusion of both industries do not change comparatively. The proposed methodological framework acts as an efficient testbed for analyzing the regional diffusion trends of different types of industries. • Multimodal freight transport costs are incorporated in locational accessibility. • Percolation theory is employed to analyze firm diffusion based on locational accessibility. • Firm diffusion trends of two typical manufacturing industries are analyzed. • Locational accessibility has significant effects on percolation transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is one of the most ambitious global investment ventures in modern times, with the stated ambition to generate inclusive development processes through improved connectivity. Recent literature increasingly interprets the BRI as uneven, complex and dynamic, and there is growing focus on its environmental consequences. However, especially given the official narrative of inclusive development, surprisingly little attention has so far been paid to the livelihood politics produced where the BRI is implemented. This short paper critically reviews recent BRI literature on southern and eastern Asia. The main argument is that the current focus on economic and political dimensions of the BRI at national and international scales has left out an understanding of local issues. In conversation with recent calls for more grounded political understandings of the BRI, as well as attentiveness to its environmental consequences, we conclude by outlining some of the benefits of adding detailed livelihood analyses to the existing body of research on the BRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A reconstruction framework is developed to classify mass news titles. • This framework can identify out-of-domain titles with in-domain words. • A cosine-based classification layer is designed to use domain knowledge. • This framework is trained on in-domain titles without out-of-domain titles. • This framework is an explainable classification approach. News title classification is a widely-used task for people to organize mass news. But traditional classification methods usually depend on a pre-defined label set, while many news articles may belong to unseen labels instead of pre-defined labels. To address this challenge, this paper develops a domain-knowledge based reconstruction framework to classify both out-of-domain (titles with unseen labels) and in-domain (titles with pre-defined labels) titles. Specifically, out-of-domain titles are identified through the reconstructed difference from autoencoder, while in-domain titles are classified to the pre-defined label with the highest cosine similarity between title and each category explanation text. Those category explanation texts are regarded as domain knowledge for in-domain aspect classification, aiming to make reconstruction framework more stable and meanwhile provide extra information for short titles. Furthermore, our method adopts BERT model to generate pre-trained embeddings for input texts. We conducted experiments on BRI (Belt and Road Initiative) news dataset and demonstrated that our method has achieved F1-score of 0.735 and 0.838 for out-of-domain title identification and in-domain aspect classification respectively. Moreover, we used titles from four countries to indicate our method's application value in cross-border business analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decades, China's vast regional disparities in resource endowment, economic development, and industrial structure have driven large-scale relocations of high energy-consuming industries (RHEIs). Despite extensive research on broad-based industrial relocation and emission transfer, the trend, structure and environmental impact of China's RHEIs need further investigation. This paper employs the multi-regional input-output model (MRIO) to calculate the trend, scale, and structure of the RHEIs among China's 30 provinces. Additionally, we investigate the RHEIs' effect on green total factor energy efficiency (GEE) and its heterogeneity. Our results indicate that the net inflow of high energy-consuming industries decreases GEE, with a more noticeable effect observed in central provinces and after the execution of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). However, the positive effect of RHEIs on GEE in outflow areas is more substantial than their negative impact in inflow areas, suggesting that RHEIs can enhance overall efficiency. This study contributes to the understanding of China's industrial relocation by providing valuable insights into China's RHEIs. • China has a large-scale relocation of high energy-consuming industries. • The relocation of China's high energy-consuming industries is calculated. • The relocation's impact on green total factor energy efficiency is analyzed. • Regional heterogeneity is found among different provinces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China Railway Express (CRE) is one of the most important constituent parts of the Belt and Road Initiative. Freight demand analysis is fundamental as a basis for the operational strategy of CRE and the investment policy along the CRE-routes. Most of the existing relevant literature has focused on the organization of the train operations of CRE, with little research related to demand analysis. This paper contributes to filling this gap by estimating customers' demand preferences for rail freight service attributes, by using a novel multi-criteria decision-analysis (MCDA) method namely Best-Worst Method (BWM). To this end, a BWM survey was conducted in China to capture customers' preferences for the main attributes that define the transport service offered by CRE. Two variants of BWM, the linear and the Bayesian, are employed for the analysis. Reliability is suggested as the most important attribute for CRE to focus on, to gain customers. We also conduct a cluster analysis based on the results, which helps the CRE operator to identify homogeneous customer segments, and to optimize the use of CRE's resources with a differentiated pricing strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), one of the largest logistics and transportation infrastructures to date, has focused on much work in the economics and political sciences. However, little research has been done on how BRI can affect supply chain management on the whole. Since BRI is a large-scale logistics infrastructure-building project, it is clear that it will have several implications for supply chains. This study aimed to fill this gap in supply chain management literature within the context of the BRI. In particular, this paper aimed to unveil the potential challenges and threats that BRI may bring to supply chain management. Using 20 semistructured interviews with supply chain managers located on the BRI lane in South Asian countries (Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, etc.), this study posed six distinct implications of BRI for logistics and supply chain management. This article concludes by articulating its contributions to theory and practice and, finally, limitations and future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposes a series of statistical and regression approaches to investigate city-cluster transport connectivity patterns. Three major city clusters in China are selected for this study, namely, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH), the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), and the Pearl River Delta (PRD) economic zones. Our analyses examine three aspects of city-cluster connectivity patterns: (i) connectivity distribution among cities within the city cluster; (ii) dependence of the non-center city on the center city; and (iii) the impact of improved intra-city-cluster rail connectivity on air-connectivity distribution. First, it is found that the BTH has the most concentrated connectivity among the three city clusters, with Beijing clearly dominating the other cities in every kind of connectivity. The connectivity distributions are more balanced in the YRD and PRD. Second, the calculated "survival connectivity" and regression analyses suggest that non-center cities heavily rely on the center city as the hub to develop their network connectivity. Such a "hub-and-spoke system" helps a non-center city improve total connectivity but reduces its direct connectivity to other cities outside the city cluster. Finally, our regression analysis shows that improved intra-city-cluster rail connectivity further deteriorates the air-connectivity disparity within the city cluster, which occurs because the center city benefits more from the upgraded air-HSR (high speed rail) intermodal connectivity because it can attract air passengers from neighboring non-center cities. Relevant policy implications and suggestions are also discussed in the paper. We believe the proposed statistical and regression approaches can be easily applied to examine city-cluster connectivity in other contexts and countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has attracted much attention in the field of transportation research. With a primary goal to improve regional and global connectivity, the initiative proposes a massive development programme of transportation infrastructure (TI) linking China with the rest of the world. While it creates a tremendous development opportunity, the unprecedented scale of TI construction also brings various challenges. In particular, the environmental impacts of the TI projects are of critical concern. Herein, smooth implementation of the TI projects would depend on the capacity of all the concerned actors to conduct collaborative planning and integrate environmental considerations. Therefore, from a multi-actor perspective, this paper aims to provide a unified framework of the environmental governance of the TI projects under the BRI. The goal is achieved through a focused review of relevant research articles and technical reports published in both English and Chinese. Based on the review findings, the framework along with four propositions are derived, focusing on the key actors (who), the environmental considerations (what) and the governance structures (how). The study concludes with theoretical and managerial implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the form of satellite ephemerides and clock parameters, the information of space datum and system time of one global navigation satellite system (GNSS) is transferred to users. With continuously updating of satellite payload such as high precision atomic clocks, monitoring and tracking techniques such as inter-satellite links, and data processing techniques, the accuracy and real-time performance of satellite ephemerides and clock products are steadily improved. Starting from December 27th, 2018, BeiDou Navigation System 3, or BDS-3 has been providing accurate and reliable basic positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) services to users in the countries within the "one belt and one road". This paper summarizes the challenges of precise orbit determination and time synchronization faced and specific solutions sought from the regional BDS-2 system to BDS-3 global system at the control segment. It is interesting to compare BDS with other GNSS systems in terms of technical characteristics. Finally, aiming at higher accuracy and more reliable PNT services, a road map of precise orbit determination and time synchronization technique for next generation navigation systems is discussed, which will lead to better and better global navigation satellite systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The international investment literature consistently indicates that enterprises, functioning as pivotal components of the economic system, engage in diversified outward foreign investment activities, thereby catalyzing the transition towards a greener and more sustainable economy and society. Based on the overseas investment data of Chinese listed companies from 2009 to 2019, this paper adopts a comprehensive approach comprising the two-way fixed effects model, propensity score matching technique, and difference-in-differences set up to evaluate the impact of the enterprise's overseas investment quantity and decision-making of host countries on green development. The findings explore that an increase in outward investment quantity facilitates the enterprise's green transition, which withstands robustness testing, including the decomposition of the green transition index, adjustments to the sample timeframe, and exclusion of corporate samples from top-tier cities. Such promoting effects are more pronounced among listed companies investing in low- and middle-income countries, as well as those located in provinces aligned with the Belt and Road Initiative in China. Further, an enterprise's overseas investment decision-making by the proposal of the BRI has exhibited a substantial and enduring enhancement of green development. This discovery underscores a pragmatic trajectory for the enterprise's green transformation, driven by proactive engagement in high-level openness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous expansion of the "Belt and Road" (BRI), green total factor productivity (GTFP) has developed into consensus. Participation in Global value chains (GVCs) brings significant industrial and ecological benefits to BRI economies. By combining the multi-region input-output analyses with the panel regression model, the current paper examines the GVCs' influence on GTFP in 93 BRI countries during 2002–2018. Furthermore, the mediating effect model recognizes the impact mechanism of GVCs. The results showed that the GVCs position caused the GTFP to increase by 33%, as evidenced by the common correlated effects mean group (CEMG) estimator. Considering the GVCs' participation modes heterogeneity, the increase in forward GVCs participation raises the GTFP by 20%, while the backward GVCs participation causes the GTFP to decrease by 17%. Considering the national heterogeneity, the GVC position increases GTFP in high-income, upper-middle-income, and lower-middle-income countries. Forward and backward participation have mixed results. Regarding the meditating effect model, the GVCs position and forward participation increase GTFP by increasing technology development and technical efficiency, while for backward participation, the effect is negative. BRI economies need to seek breakthroughs in GVC positions to attain the environmental governance function, enhance climate governance cooperation, and encourage synergy to promote green production. • GVCs position is positively correlated with GTFP in BRI economies. • Forward GVCs participation rises, and backward GVCs participation reduces GTFP. • Participation in GVCs affects GTFP differently, considering national heterogeneity. • Technology development and technical efficiency play a moderating role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impacts of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on the information and communication technology (ICT) development of participating economies. ICT development is measured with internet penetration, mobile penetration, broadband subscription, and telephone subscription. The causal effect of the BRI on ICT development is estimated using a propensity score reweighting difference-in-differences (DiD) model. We find that the participating economies experience a significant rise in ICT development. A country's participation in the Digital Silk Road (DSR) in addition to the BRI further increases its ICT development and increases its participation in global ICT value chains relative to their BRI-only counterparts. Overall, the benefit of participating in the BRI on ICT development is enhanced by participating in the DSR. However, there are unequal trade creation effects between China and the rest of the world. The participating economies increase their imports of computer and information services more from and increase their imports of communication services less from China than from the rest of the world after the participation. These results are robust to a parallel trend test, alternative ICT measures and alternative estimation methods. Finally, we highlight the implications of our results for policy makers in developing countries who want to improve their ICT development and to engage in global ICT value chains, and for academics in developing future research to evaluate these initiatives at the macro- and micro-levels. • BRI participation benefits the ICT development of participating economies. • BRI participant economies experience a significant rise in ICT development. • Added participation in the DSR further increases a country's ICT development. • DSR increases inclusion into global ICT value chains relative to BRI-only countries. • Unequal trade between China & the rest of the world with BRI & DSR participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A capacitated multigraph is presented that defines services (directed arcs) by transport mode, departure date, transit time, cost, distance and carbon emissions. • A Capacitated Multi-Commodity Flow Service Selection Problem is proposed to help shippers to choose transport mode, routes and the specific departure vehicle, train or ship. • This study analyses the regional patterns of CR Express versus maritime shipping under the dual impact of inventory cost and carbon emissions. • This paper provides some suggestions for shippers to route cargos, for operators to improve services and for government to determine carbon tariffs. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) entails investments to improve overland (rail) transport between Europe and China. This paper introduces a microscopic Multi-Commodity Flow Service Selection Problem for freight transport under the BRI and provides a decision tool for shippers to make door-to-door service plans. The minimizing objective function considers transportation costs, in-transit inventory costs, and carbon emissions. A series of sampled data of each provincial region of China are collected from Chinese multimodal transport operators. Results show that inland regions are strongly attracted to the rail mode for shipments to Europe. However, the "last mile" (including "first mile") transport from the shipper to the long-haul transport terminal strongly influences this choice, and carbon emissions are strongly influenced by the available last mile transport links. Under the dual impact of in-transit inventory and carbon emission costs, regions that prefer rail to maritime are much further east than suggested by previous literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper adopts infrastructure as a lens through which new understandings of the inter-relationships between territory and sovereignty can be advanced. It argues that inverting the terrestrial assumption of territory can lead to "slippages" of sovereignty in which territorial sovereignty is indirectly claimed through the assertion of governance rights. For the purposes of this paper, I explore these inversions through the reclaiming of land from the ocean, and the removal of land by the ocean. Drawing on ethnographic research exploring the effects of China-backed infrastructure mega-projects in Sri Lanka, these territorial inversions are explored, respectively, through the Port City Colombo project – in which territory is claimed from the ocean through the creation of an island infrastructure – and the Hambantota International Port project – in which territory is removed by the ocean through the creation of a man-made port. Both projects reveal the ways in which infrastructure investments are implicated in the region-building ambitions of the Belt and Road Initiative, and thus provide conduits through which Chinese sovereignty can be asserted. As conduits, they foreground the realisation, but also the reimagination, of what "islandness" can mean in/to post-war Sri Lanka. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Recent research on the B&R eco-environment is reviewed. • The B&R is likely to face environmental challenges due to its fragile background. • Four key aspects of the ecological environment are studied. • Sustainable development should be promoted under socioeconomic frameworks for the B&R. • Future research directions for improving the B&R eco-environments are proposed. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) will play an essential role in boosting the world's economy. However, the main portion of the Belt and Road (B&R) is in arid, semi-arid, or sub-humid fragile ecological regions, which with global climate change and the intensification of human activities will face many pressing environmental challenges in the future. Despite this, in the existing research on the B&R, papers in the field of natural sciences are less than 1.2–4.3% of the total number of papers on the main databases, which is far lower than the coverage in humanities and social sciences. And those focused on the ecological and environmental issues along the B&R are even fewer, so necessary understanding of both the risks and adequate mitigation measures remains unclear. This paper systematically reviews the relevant research on the eco-environments along the B&R, and summarizes it in terms including of spatial patterns and cognition, cost efficiency and evaluation, ecological security and evaluation, ecological footprint and carrying capacity. It further suggests that a better understanding of environmental changes and their effects on the B&R is needed. Additionally, it is essential that the potential positive socio-economic impacts for the future under the BRI are sustainable. Finally, future research directions are proposed to improve for the better eco-environments in B&R regions with consideration of global changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies have shown that monitoring the progress towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provides a basis for evaluation of efforts in sustainable development and formulation of policy recommendations. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) may have profound implications for the sustainable development of the involved countries. However, the performance of these countries with respect to the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of SDGs is yet to be explored. In this paper, we addressed this gap by analysing the progress towards SDGs during 2000–2019 on both the BRI and national scales by accounting for the social, economic, and environmental SDGs. We found that the BRI SDG index (SDGI), calculated by summing up the results from the three dimensions, increased from 43.5 in 2000 to 60.2 in 2019. Meanwhile, more than 90% of the BRI nations were at least halfway towards reaching the best performance of SDGs as of 2019. Of the 65 BRI nations, European countries generally performed better, while Central and West Asian countries performed relatively poorly according to the SDGI. Overall, the BRI showed high, medium, and low scores in achieving the economic, social, and environmental SDGs, respectively. In addition, the three dimensions have shown significant synergistic relationships over the past 20 years, although the synergies are weakening. Our research described the progress of BRI towards the SDGs, revealing that more attention should be paid to the environmental dimension, particularly to SDG 15 (life on land), as it received the lowest score and had the steepest downward trend of all SDGs. Considering the spatial heterogeneity among the BRI nations, we proposed a geospatial division and management plan as a potential measure to achieve SDGs. [Display omitted] • Spatio-temporal variations in the SDGs of 65 BRI nations were explored. • Progress in social, economic, and environmental dimensions of SDGs were measured. • SDG indexes of BRI and 17 individual SDGs showed high spatial heterogeneity. • Environmental dimension remained the major barrier to achieving the SDGs. • Three dimensions showed significantly synergistic but weakening relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ports, as the main components of global maritime transportation, have attracted attention from both industry and academia in relation to their safety management. Identifying the important ports of a maritime shipping network is necessary and significant for the recovery of ports when encountering severe disasters, especially with limited emergency resources. This paper proposes a new method to evaluate the importance of ports by incorporating centrality measures of networks into the TOPSIS framework. Three types of centrality measures were used in an integrated manner to provide a more comprehensive evaluation of the port importance. Some economic factors such as the throughput of ports and GDP of the cities are also considered in combination with the entropy weight method to determine the weight of each criterion in the proposed model. Furthermore, a case study of the ports along the (MSR) shipping network is conducted to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method in identifying essential ports. [Display omitted] • This paper proposes a new method to evaluate the importance of ports by incorporating centrality measures and economic indicators (such as GDP and port throughput) into the TOPSIS framework. • This research provides a theoretical basis for identifying influential ports in complex maritime transportation networks. •The evaluation results revealed that among the top ten important ports of the MSR shipping network, six are from China. The top three most important ports are the Port of Singapore, Hong Kong and Shenzhen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been a growing political and scholarly interest in the re-emergence of Chinese development cooperation and this work explores the construction of South-South spatial matrix of knowledge, power and imagination. The paper examines the critical geopolitics of producing international development studies in China as an intellectual project over the last 5–10 years, in close relation to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Drawing on eight months' fieldwork in Beijing, it develops a political economic geography of individuals, institutions and ideologies that have shaped the geographically and politically situated processes of inventing Chinese international development studies. The paper traces the spatial genealogy of the disciplinary regime, making visible the rise of a division of social scientific labour at a complicated moment of geopolitical flux, especially against the backdrop of intensifying US-China rivalry. It also maps out the tensions and nuances in an uneven field of knowledge and power. The future of the nascent state-disciplinary apparatus is uncertain, not least dependent on China's ongoing reinterpretation of its national identity and national mission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This study determines the prospective multimodal transportation hubs in the BRI network. • A multi-methodological approach based on network centrality measures and gravity model is proposed. • This study integrates air, rail, and maritime mode of transportation in the BRI network. • The importance of air transportation network in the BRI network is demonstrated. • Analytical result suggests primary cities in the BRI network for enhancing international trading outreach. As the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) takes root, the Air Transportation Network (ATN) is gaining prominence, as evidenced by the Air Silk Road Initiative proposed in 2017. However, the ATN of the BRI countries and its integration with maritime and rail transport have not been studied. This paper analyzes the network structure of the ATN of the BRI countries. A multi-layer weighted betweenness metric is used to rank the centrality of the hubs in the network based on the connectivity, distance, and traffic between the airports. Using the centrality ranking of the airports to reflect the distribution of traffic demand in the BRI countries, a gravity model is then applied to quantify the centrality of the maritime and rail hubs. Mapping these hubs to their home cities, this paper assesses the current state of the multimodal transport hubs and recommends new hubs to increase the international trading reach of the BRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a major carbon-emitting sector, transportation promotes regional linkages and triggers embodied CO 2 flows that accompany trade. This paper first constructs a 'provincial-national-global' multi-scale input–output (MSIO) model based on IO-nested technology. Then it evaluates the embodied CO 2 in transportation-related trade (TTEC) flows between Chinese provinces and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries, and assesses their driving factors from multi-scale regional and cross-sectoral. Empirical findings show that regions with large TTEC flows are mainly concentrated in the northeastern, eastern and southern areas of China. The construction sector is the largest contributor to exported TTEC, while the energy sector has the largest imported TTEC. Singapore and India are the main exporting countries of TTEC from China, and India and Russia occupy a dominant position in importing TTEC. Finally, policy implications are put forward, that should provide quantitative and theoretical support for decision-making on reducing carbon in transportation between China and BRI regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the evolution of the port network along the Maritime Silk Road (MSR) motivated by the need for sustainable development. First, considering the influence of sustainable development on the attraction of ports, we optimize the AB model, a generator based on connectivity. After this the evolution simulation is carried out based on the data of 55 major ports along the MSR. The results of evolution simulation show that, due to sustainable development, ports in Southeast Asia and South Asia are expected to become the core nodes in the network while the status of China's ports in the network will decline significantly. The results further show that the frequency of nodes close to the mid-value increases significantly and that ports currently under construction, such as Melaka Gateway, Hambantota and Gwadar, will have an important impact on the network structure. This study serves as a useful reference for port development along the MSR from a sustainable development perspective. • This paper explores the evolution of the ports network under the influence of sustainable development. • Evolution simulation is carried out based on the data of 55 major ports along the marine silk route. • A useful reference for ports development from the perspective of sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper establishes a two-level alliance cooperation mechanism for China Railway Express (CR Express). • This paper proposes a matching coefficient model for logistics capability and demand of the inland ports in CR Express. • A cross-border logistics gravity model and TOPSIS for the cooperative attraction among the inland ports are applied. • This paper conducts an empirical test for a coordinated logistics alliance system with 41 key inland ports with CR Express platforms. Having recognized the difficult coordination problems among China Railway Express (CR Express) platforms, this paper attempts to establish a coordinated horizontal alliance system for inland ports with CR Express platforms in China. This study employs a hybrid method with an improved entropy-weighted TOPSIS, a matching model of logistics capability and demand, and a cross-border logistics gravity model. This paper identifies the logistics attraction among the inland ports and establishes seven alliances and a corresponding collaboration mechanism. These findings provide insightful suggestions about the coordinated development of CR Express platforms along the Silk Road Economic Belt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's release of a White Paper to document its Arctic Policy in 2018 has attracted widespread academic and popular commentaries. In particular, Beijing's ambition to build a "Polar Silk Road" (冰上丝绸之路) in the Arctic so as to link Asia and Europe via logistic and transportation networks have garnered intense 'external' speculations about whether China is using the initiative to gain geopolitical power and domination in the region. This paper however focuses on the under-researched dimension of how the idea of the Polar Silk Road is understood, debated and portrayed in the Chinese scholarly community. Specifically, by hinging on the conceptual and methodological tenets offered by framing theory, I seek to critically examine the representational themes and tropes that are mobilized by Chinese scholars in their discussions of the Polar Silk Road amidst China's increasing forays into the Arctic. Indeed, I argue that Chinese academic discourses about the Polar Silk Road evoke positive frames broaching a diversity of concerns (economic, environmental, diplomatic and so on) to not only justify but also defend China's ongoing interests and interventions in the Arctic region. By engaging in this study, this paper responds to critical geopolitics' call to pay nuanced attention to under-represented 'non-Western' geopolitical ideas, philosophies and traditions. Moreover, given the claim that the academic and foreign policy realms in China are intertwined in intimate and complex ways, the viewpoints of Chinese scholars thus becomes critical and relevant to understand insofar as they help to signal to the possible future developmental trajectories of China's approach in the Arctic (and beyond). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to build a political economic geography of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). We draw on assemblage thinking and the notion of the Chinese Water Machine to examine Chinese practices and business-related outcomes of building a dam in Africa, stressing the complicated interactions between different actors. Based on fieldwork in China and Ghana, as well as documentary data, this paper argues that Chinese engagement with Africa is a global enterprise, in which players come from China, the recipient, and other countries; and that project-level organisation and implementation under BRI umbrella will also likely be a joint production by all such players, elaborated in a path dependent way but subject to the spatial embeddedness of specific projects. Yet whether BRI-related projects can advance the specific geopolitical and economic interests of China is uncertain: not only have Chinese players been co-constructing such infrastructure projects with non-Chinese players, but also Beijing's role in forging the expansion of Chinese corporations' business abroad is not clear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is known today as the Maritime Silk Road Initiative (MSRI) was first proposed in fall 2013 by China's President Xi Jinping in a keynote speech to the Indonesian parliament in Jakarta and has since drawn immense geopolitical and economic attention. The stated goal of the large-scale initiative is to strengthen maritime connectivity between China, Asia, Africa and Europe by infrastructural development, particularly of ports, oil transshipment terminals and Special Economic Zones. Based on the initial review of policy documents and widely published strategic visions of the Maritime Silk Road, the paper aims to explore, on the one hand, the conceptual foundations and policy mechanisms behind China's large-scale development projects in coastal areas along the Indian Ocean. On the other, the paper by drawing on an empirical example from Sri Lanka seeks to take an evolutionary governance theory (EGT) perspective towards on-the-ground implementation of these policies. By doing so, the study highlights the impact of interconnected formal and informal institutions and discourses, in transforming Chinese engagement. The contribution therefore seeks to reflect upon particular Chinese patterns of high-modernist developmental governance in coastal places and their local social and political negotiation and materialisation. • The Maritime Silk Road Initiative draws on a benefits-for-all development approach. • Chinese infrastructural development in the Indian Ocean is challenged. • Evolutionary Governance Theory helps to rethink top-down infrastructure development. • Governance as a process of becoming is shaped by power struggles. • Top-down governance discourses are interconnected with discourses at other scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport geography has made significant progress since the 2000s, attending now not only to transport's spatial properties, but also its economic, developmental, and, most recently, environmental intersections. As its eponymous journal celebrates its twenty-fifth year, this article seeks to introduce another dimension—geopolitics—by which the field can make further breakthroughs. Despite a few similar calls in the early-2010s, research contextually grounded in the mutual imbrications between transport and geopolitics has remained scant. This diverges from how the field used to countenance states' geopolitical strategies much more rigorously in the early-twentieth century, gracing topics such as imperial corridors, civilizing missions through mobility, and the establishment of world transport orders. Using China's Belt and Road Initiative as a prompt and exemplar, this paper argues for more sustained research on three broad geopolitical strands in the future. These strands are: transport visions and imaginations, rule-making in transport, and militarism in transport. Demonstrating the centrality of geopolitical discourses and practices in China's Belt and Road Initiative and other large-scale transport projects, this paper argues that geopolitics is not merely a background fact 'out there' affecting transport. Rather, it is an integral part of the asymmetrical production, organization and impedance of transport's geographies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the effect of air transportation, railway transportation, and trade openness on inbound and outbound tourism in 140 Belt and Road Initiative countries from 1996 to 2020. Principal Component Analysis was utilized to generate inbound and outbound tourism indexes. For long-run estimation, fully modified ordinary least squares and dynamic common correlated effects were utilized. The findings revealed that air and railway transportation, including trade openness, positively affect inbound and outbound tourism in the long run. Granger causality test confirmed a bidirectional relationship exists between inbound tourism with air transportation, railway transportation, travel services, and trade openness. However, a unidirectional relationship exists between inbound tourism and transport services. Outbound tourism has a bidirectional linkage with air transportation, railway transportation, travel services, transport services, and trade. This paper recommends that the BRI countries need to take advantage of the trade route for tourism development and transportation services for easy accessibility. • Linkages between air and railway transportation on tourism. • The sample comprises 140 Belt and Road Initiative countries from 1996 to 2020. • Principle Component Analysis, FMOLS, and DCCE tests were used for estimation. • The outcome shows a long-term relationship exists between transportation and inbound and outbound tourism. • The causality test find that a bidirectional relationship exists between tourism, and transportation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]