Rethinking the development of economic geography in mainland China

Economic geography is a discipline encompassing diverse scopes and approaches. As such, it is not easy to achieve well-founded dialogues between economic geographers from different countries, though such dialogues are necessary for establishing a well-developed platform of discussion. The authors attempt to help scholars from other countries understand the development of economic geography in China by showing how such development has been affected by the country's institutional and economic conditions. They first introduce the context in which economic geography has developed in China and discuss changes in the definition of economic geography in the country. They then examine post-1949 development of economic geography in China in terms of research orientations or tasks, funding, and organization. The authors argue that the development of economic geography is embedded in a broad socioeconomic and institutional context and that this context is key to understanding the development of economic geography in different countries.

The Spatial Evolution of Geoeconomic Pattern among China and Neighboring Countries since the Reform and Opening-Up

The rise of China has had a profound impact on the world and regional political and economic pattern since the reform and opening-up. This paper studies the impact of China’s development on the evolution of the surrounding geo-pattern from the perspective of geoeconomics. Based on the sensitivity and vulnerability of asymmetric interdependence, trade and investment indicators are selected to construct a quantitative model to measure the relative economic dependence between China and neighboring countries. This paper analyzes the degree, types and trends of relative economic dependence and the relationship between economic interdependence and political relations, and investigates the surrounding geoeconomic cooperation. The results are shown as follows: (1) Since 2010, all neighboring countries have had relative economic dependence on China. China’s geoeconomic position in the surrounding area has radically transformed. (2) Since the reform and opening-up, the relative economic dependence of neighboring countries on China has been rising, from negative to positive and from low to high. After 2003, the types of relative economic dependence have gradually shifted from dual low and trade-compensative dependence to dual high and trade-oriented dependence. (3) Trade was the dominant factor in the relative economic dependence of most neighboring countries on China, and it was also the main factor contributing to China’s economic advantages over great powers in the neighborhood. The majority of neighboring countries’ investment dependence on China increased faster than their trade dependence, and the growth of their relative economic dependence will gradually turn to investment in the future. (4) The improvement of political relations between China and neighboring countries provides a foundation for the development of economic relations, and economic relations have the “inertia” of resisting political risks. The deepening of economic ties is conducive to friendly and stable political relations. (5) China’s peripheral geoeconomic strategy focuses on cooperation rather than competition. One of the goals of geoeconomics is the pursuit of joint economic benefits

Histamine H1 receptor deletion in cholinergic neurons induces sensorimotor gating ability deficit and social impairments in mice

Negative symptoms in schizophrenia strongly contribute to poor functional outcomes, however its pathogenesis is still unclear. Here, we found that histamine H1 receptor (H1R) expression in basal forebrain (BF) cholinergic neurons was decreased in patients with schizophrenia having negative symptoms. Deletion of H1R gene in cholinergic neurons in mice resulted in functional deficiency of cholinergic projections from the BF to the prefrontal cortex and in the formation of sensorimotor gating deficit, social impairment and anhedonia-like behavior. These behavioral deficits can be rescued by re-expressing H1R or by chemogenetic activation of cholinergic neurons in the BF. Direct chemogenetic inhibition of BF cholinergic neurons produced such behavioral deficits and also increased the susceptibility to hyperlocomotion. Our results suggest that the H1R deficiency in BF cholinergic neurons is critical for sensorimotor gating deficit, social impairments and anhedonia-like behavior. This finding may help to understand the genetic and biochemical bases of negative symptoms in schizophrenia