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The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is an important long-term development plan in China. The initiative aims at expanding international markets and resolving the domestic steel overcapacity. This paper applies the dynamic model averaging and dynamic model selection estimation techniques to investigate the determinants for steel consumption, forecast steel consumption, and explore whether the BRI can resolve the steel overcapacity in China. In terms of the in-sample regression analysis, the results show that the demand of countries along the BRI is significantly and positively related to the steel consumption in China. In the out-of-sample predictability after 2014, the BRI would gradually resolve the steel overcapacity in China. It is predicted that by the end of 2020, China will be left with between only 32.1 and 58 million tons of crude steel.

This study aimed to evaluate prognostic parameters associated with favorable clinical prognosis and assess the feasibility and safety of three different treatment strategies in patients with acute intracranial vertebrobasilar artery occlusion (VBAO). A total of 159 patients with acute VBAO at 3 stroke centers between September 2015 and October 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. Eighty-nine patients underwent mechanical thrombectomy (MT) alone, 43 underwent MT with additional rescue angioplasty, and 27 underwent primary balloon angioplasty (without or with stenting). In patients treated with primary or rescue balloon angioplasty (without or with stenting), a low-dose intra-arterial tirofiban injection was used. The reperfusion status was assessed after the procedure, and the functional outcome was assessed at 90-day follow-up. The baseline characteristics and 90-day prognosis of three different treatment subgroups were comparatively analyzed. Overall, successful reperfusion and a favorable outcome were achieved in 96.86% (154/159) and 46.54% (74/159) patients, respectively. The onset to puncture time (461.96 min vs 603.59 min, P = 0.000), procedure time (64.12 min vs 70.47 min, P = 0.007), and onset to reperfusion time (526.08 min vs 674.47 min, P = 0.000) were significantly shorter in patients with favorable outcomes than in those with poor outcomes. Among different endovascular treatment subgroups, no significant differences were found in successful reperfusion and 90-day outcome. Low-dose tirofiban did not increase the risk of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage and the 90-day mortality in patients with acute VBAO. Individualized endovascular treatment strategy for selected patients with acute VBAO could achieve satisfactory reperfusion rate and favorable prognosis.