Forms and Contents of Economic Spatial Order of Modern China
Fang Shusheng
Fang Shusheng, Associate Research Professor, Institute of Economics, SASS
E-mail: shusheng@sass.org.cn
This paper in Chinese was originally published in Researches in Chinese Economic History, 2020 (2).
Abstract: The spatial forms and connotations of economic changes in China, which were unprecedented in the past millennium and started in the mid-19th century, are “a Proposition of the Century” concerned by academic circles at home and abroad for a long time but still seems to be obscure. On the basis of previous studies in recent years, this paper follows the clues behind the phenomenon of “regionalized economy” under “Port-Inland” Pattern of modern China, analyzes the formation of a single regionalized economy through case study on the South China, further probes into a national combination of multiple regionalized economies, and finally tries to expound on three hierarchies for economic spatial order of modern China, thereby answering the economist Ji Chaoding’s “Question of the Century” about the new changes in China’s economy after the mid-19th century. According to the research findings, the forms of economic spatial order of modern China can be described as regionalized economies and their national combination that originated under “Port-Inland” Pattern, while the contents are embodied by location value discovery with “regionalized economies” as the carrier and the process of resource allocation optimization. This not only helps clarify the attributes and meanings of the modern Chinese economic space, but also pinpoints a new direction for understanding the variations in the modern Chinese economy.
Keywords: Port-Inland; Regionalized Economies; Economic Spatial Order; Modern China
Regional Competition for R&D Subsidies of Local Governments
Li Shiqi, Zhu Pingfang
Li Shiqi, Assistant Research Professor, Research Center of Econometrics, SASS
E-mail: lsq@sass.org.cn
Zhu Pingfang, Research Professor, Director, Research Center of Econometrics, SASS
This paper in Chinese was originally published in Systems Engineering—Theory & Practice, 2019 (4).
Abstract: In this paper, we have built a regional competition model about getting R&D subsidies from local governments with the intervention of the central government. By using the method of spatial panel, we analyzed the competition pattern of local governments on enterprise R&D subsidies according to the data of 31 provinces in China from 2009 to 2015. The study found that the spatial effect of local governments' R&D subsidies for state-owned enterprises (SOE) was negative, and local governments adopted the competition strategy of mutual substitution. Furthermore, the coefficient of fiscal decentralization degree is significantly negative, indicating that there are great externalities in the basic and overall R&D activities of SOEs. The local governments' R&D subsidies for SOEs mainly rely on the guidance and support of the central government. Therefore, the competition among local governments on the subsidies is essentially a competition for transfer payments from the central government. While, R&D subsidies for non-SOEs have a positive spatial effect, and local governments adopt mutual imitation strategy during the competition so as to attract and retain innovative non-SOEs that are market-oriented and full of strong mobility. The results show that the regional competition guided by the central government is constantly adjusted with the change of economic development pattern, and the competition object keeps on shifting to innovation elements, which fully reflects institutional advantages of China and the decisive role of the market in the allocation of innovative resources.
Keywords: R&D Subsidies; Local Government Competition; Fiscal Decentralization; Spatial Econometrics
Balanced Regional Development Research Based on Spatial, Temporal and Elemental Synergy: A Case Study of Changning District, Shanghai
Zhu Jianjiang, Research Professor, Director, Institute of Urban and Demographic Studies, SASS
E-mail: zhujianjiang@sass.org.cn
This paper in Chinese was originally published in Journal of East China Normal University (Humanities and Social Sciences), 2019 (5).
Abstract: Regional development, especially balanced regional development, involves many aspects of synergistic development. Based on the 1994 Master Plan of Changning District of Shanghai and its implementation for more than twenty years, the systematic evolution from imbalanced to balanced development can be analyzed, and its practical experiences in regional development can be credited and summarized as the result of spatial, temporal and elemental synergy. The experience of Changning District of Shanghai shows that regional development can be attained from imbalanced development to balanced development; balanced regional development is the synthesis of balanced development in time, space and elements. Balanced regional development is gradient promoted. Balanced regional development is measurable. For this reason, in the process of regional development in our country from unbalanced development to balanced development in the future, it is advised to highlight various region's location, resource endowment, development basis and conditions, along with practice of dislocation, simultaneous and synergistic development.
Keywords: Regional Balanced Development; Spatial Synergy; Temporal Synergy; Elemental Synergy; Changning District, Shanghai
Structural Characteristics and Influencing Factors of the FTA Networks Along the Belt and Road: From the Perspective of Trade Agreement Heterogeneity
Peng Yu, Shen Yuliang, Tian Xiaoxi
Peng Yu, Associate Research Professor, Institute of World Economy, SASS
E-mail: pengyu@sass.org.cn
Shen Yuliang, Research Professor, Institute of World Economy, SASS
Tian Xiaoxi, graduate student, Institute of World Economy, SASS
This paper in Chinese was originally published in World Economy Studies, 2019 (7).
Abstract: In this paper, the Social Network Analysis (SNA) method is adopted to analyze the structural characteristics of the FTA networks along the Belt and Road from the perspective of trade agreement heterogeneity. On this basis, the QAP matrix regression method is used to empirically analyze the influencing factors of the unweighted and weighted FTA networks along the Belt and Road. The research results indicate that: (1) The FTA networks along the Belt and Road have evolved from decentralized simple local networks at the beginning of this century to today's overlapping complex global networks. However, deep FTA networks could only be formed by geographically close countries or neighboring countries. (2) ASEAN countries have become the absolute center of FTA networks along “the Belt and Road”, but have not yet formed any FTA network that is dominated by big powers. (3) The factor endowment differences network exerts a significant positive impact on the formation of unweighted FTA networks along the Belt and Road. This indicates that, in addition to the impact of other external factors (geographical distance, bordering or not, etc.), economic complementarity factor makes great contributions to the formation of unweighted FTA networks along the Belt and Road. (4) From the perspective of weighted FTA networks that take trade agreement heterogeneity into account, economic complementarity factor exerts a small impact on the formation of deep FTA networks. However, the common culture and values represented by sharing a common language have become an important driving factor in promoting the formation of deep FTA networks along the Belt and Road.
Keywords: FTA Networks along the Belt and Road; Trade Agreement Heterogeneity; Social Network Analysis; QAP Model
The Paradigmatic Significance of Political Philosophy to the Development of Contemporary Chinese Philosophy
Zhang Zhihong, Research Professor, Institute of Philosophy, SASS
E-mail: zzh888@sass.org.cn
This paper in Chinese was originally published in Academic Monthly, 2018 (2).
Abstract: The disciplinary development of contemporary Chinese philosophy should abandon the “defense-oriented” development mode created in modern times as soon as possible, and return to the development path of “intellectual history”. Solving the practical problems of people’s social life is the root cause and driving force behind the creation and development of ideology. Therefore, the ideological content is inevitably related to reality, and it grasps the crux of real problems from a higher level, and then provides principles and ideas to solve practical problems. Therefore, political philosophy is undoubtedly the paradigm for the disciplinary development of modern Chinese philosophy. The studies on contemporary Chinese political philosophy have made some achievements, but there are still some problems. We should take political philosophy as the paradigm to further improve and promote the disciplinary construction of Chinese philosophy.
Keywords: Political Philosophy; Chinese Philosophy; Disciplinary Development; Paradigm
A New Round Debate over WTO Special and Differential Treatment and its Prospects
Ke Jing, Assistant Research Professor, Institute of International Relations, SASS
E-mail: kejing@sass.org.cn
This paper in Chinese was originally published in Contemporary International Relations, 2019 (8).
Abstract: Since the birth of the concept of special and differential treatment (S&DT), there have been serious differences between developed and developing country members in terms of its connotation, scope and implementation methods. In recent years, with the changes in the world economic pattern and the transformation of the US government’ s overall strategy towards China, disputes over S&DT have been further intensified. The new round of debate was provoked by developed country members led by the United States, which launched a comprehensive challenge to the eligibility criteria of S&DT for developing countries. The focus of conflicts and the process of debates showed different complexity, pertinence and urgency from the previous ones. How the S&DT will evolve in the future will mainly depend on the understanding of the interests of all parties in the WTO and the way they interact on this issue. In view of the gradual improvement of China's economic development level, as well as the increasingly fierce competition between China and the United States, China's space for manoeuvre on S&DT provisions in the WTO may be less and less in the future.
Keywords: Special and Differential Treatment (S&DT); Developing Country Status; World Economy; the World Trade Organization (WTO)
Sacrificial Ceremonies, Control of Properties and the Revolution:
The Evolution of Property Structure of the Lineage in Shiqiao of Cixi during the Late Qing Dynasty and the Early Republic of China
Jiang Hongda, Assistant Research Professor, Institute of History, SASS
E-mail: jianghongda@sass.org.cn
This paper in Chinese was originally published in Modern Chinese History Studies, 2019 (1).
Abstract: During the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, the organizational form and property structure of the Shen lineage in Shiqiao, Cixi, Zhejiang Province, underwent significant changes. Before the mid-Qing Dynasty, in order to deal with the frequent disputes over water supply, the Shen lineage and families with other surnames formed an alliance for sacrificial ceremonies. Around the First Sino-Japanese War in the mid-1890s, in the context of the rapidly-developing machine industry and cotton spinning industry in both China and Japan, coastal sand flat along the south bank of Hangzhou Bay was reclaimed into cotton fields on a large scale. The original sacrificial ceremonies alliance for water affairs gradually turned into a land corporation, an organization in control of properties on sand flat. After the New Policy Reform in the late Qing, internal conflicts and external popular riots made ever-increasingly severe blows to this organization, which was rattled by turbulent local powers. During the Northern Expedition (1926-1927), internal and external conflicts triggered such a peasant movement that seriously challenged the traditional dominant powers in Shiqiao. As a result, local social order tended to fade away and disintegrate. In order to mitigate this crisis, traditional sacrificial ceremonies alliance for water affairs and lineage structure of property control were restored. A paradoxical phenomenon took place: The revolution revived the “old regime”. The local society witnessed a mixture of the old and the new after the Nationalist Revolution.
Keywords: Lineage; Common Property; Rural Society; the Northern Expedition (1926-1927); Peasant Movements; Cixi, Zhejiang
Protestant Missionaries and the Creation of A “New Literature” in Modern Times
Di Xiachen
Di Xiachen, Assistant Research Professor, Institute of Literature, SASS
E-mail: dixiachen@163.com
This paper in Chinese was originally published in International Sinology, 2019 (3).
Abstract: The Protestant missionaries who came to China actively advocated a new literature in China through essay contests, the creation of missionary novels, and translation. The “New Literature” promoted by missionaries had similarities with the literature of the May 4th movement, and provided literary and content resources for the latter. The Christianity propagated by missionaries also affected the creation of writers of the new literature and the formation of modern literature. With the help of modern English newspapers run by Protestant missionaries, this essay analyzes their literary thought and activities, and shows their historical position in the modern transformation of Chinese literature.
Key words: Protestant Missionaries; “New Literature”; Christian Literature; Missionary Novels; Essay Contest
