Investment Suitability Assessment Based on B&R Symbiotic System Theory: Location Choice of China’s OFDI

Achieving mutualistic symbiosis is the core concept of China’s promotion of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Therefore, how to guide China’s OFDI location decision-making in the Belt and Road (B&R) countries from the perspective of mutualistic symbiosis is of great significance. This paper constructs the B&R symbiotic system based on symbiotic system theory, to establish the investment suitability index from three dimensions: stability, coordination, and sustainability, then uses the entropy weight, TOPSIS, and GIS method to assess and analyze the investment suitability index of 60 major countries in B&R’s six economic corridors. The findings indicate that Russia, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, and Malaysia have the highest investment suitability and are China’s most favorable OFDI destinations for achieving mutualistic symbiosis. Conversely, Syria, Lebanon, Jordon, and Yemen have the lowest investment suitability. Based on these results, policymakers can formulate more scientific and reasonable policies to guide China’s OFDI to make location decisions in B&R countries with high investment suitability, so as to promote the high-quality and sustainable development of B&R construction. However, due to data acquisition and technical reasons, this study does not analyze investment suitability from time trends. The analysis of investment suitability from more B&R countries or different types of industries is an important direction for further research in the future

Investment Suitability Assessment Based on B&R Symbiotic System Theory: Location Choice of China’s OFDI

Achieving mutualistic symbiosis is the core concept of China’s promotion of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Therefore, how to guide China’s OFDI location decision-making in the Belt and Road (B&R) countries from the perspective of mutualistic symbiosis is of great significance. This paper constructs the B&R symbiotic system based on symbiotic system theory, to establish the investment suitability index from three dimensions: stability, coordination, and sustainability, then uses the entropy weight, TOPSIS, and GIS method to assess and analyze the investment suitability index of 60 major countries in B&R’s six economic corridors. The findings indicate that Russia, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, and Malaysia have the highest investment suitability and are China’s most favorable OFDI destinations for achieving mutualistic symbiosis. Conversely, Syria, Lebanon, Jordon, and Yemen have the lowest investment suitability. Based on these results, policymakers can formulate more scientific and reasonable policies to guide China’s OFDI to make location decisions in B&R countries with high investment suitability, so as to promote the high-quality and sustainable development of B&R construction. However, due to data acquisition and technical reasons, this study does not analyze investment suitability from time trends. The analysis of investment suitability from more B&R countries or different types of industries is an important direction for further research in the future

How Real Estate Shocks Affect Manufacturing Value Chain Upgrading: Evidence from China

Contrary to the conventional viewpoint that “high housing price promotes industrial upgrading”, this study finds that increasingly high housing prices are a pivotal factor that obstructs industrial value chain upgrading. Based on city-level data, micro-level data for Chinese industrial enterprises, and data for listed Chinese enterprises, this study examines the impacts of urban housing prices on value chain upgrading. We find that soaring housing prices in China since 2004 stunted industrial value chain upgrading, as indicated by the value-added rate. When housing prices increase by 100%, the enterprise value-added rate decreases by 12.4%. Intermediary mechanism analysis shows that housing price increases lead to innovation input suppression effects and resource misallocation effects, which in turn obstruct industrial value chain upgrading. Further analysis demonstrates that the impacts of housing price increases on industrial value chain upgrading, presenting an inverted-U shape, are varied in terms of time and region. Enterprises’ value chain upgrading also showcases different degrees of sensitivity to housing price increases, due to their respective features. The conclusions of this study carry significant policy implications for the sound development of the real estate market and industrial upgrading in China, as well as in developing countries at large

How Real Estate Shocks Affect Manufacturing Value Chain Upgrading: Evidence from China

Contrary to the conventional viewpoint that “high housing price promotes industrial upgrading”, this study finds that increasingly high housing prices are a pivotal factor that obstructs industrial value chain upgrading. Based on city-level data, micro-level data for Chinese industrial enterprises, and data for listed Chinese enterprises, this study examines the impacts of urban housing prices on value chain upgrading. We find that soaring housing prices in China since 2004 stunted industrial value chain upgrading, as indicated by the value-added rate. When housing prices increase by 100%, the enterprise value-added rate decreases by 12.4%. Intermediary mechanism analysis shows that housing price increases lead to innovation input suppression effects and resource misallocation effects, which in turn obstruct industrial value chain upgrading. Further analysis demonstrates that the impacts of housing price increases on industrial value chain upgrading, presenting an inverted-U shape, are varied in terms of time and region. Enterprises’ value chain upgrading also showcases different degrees of sensitivity to housing price increases, due to their respective features. The conclusions of this study carry significant policy implications for the sound development of the real estate market and industrial upgrading in China, as well as in developing countries at large

Intermittent hypoxia training effectively protects against cognitive decline caused by acute hypoxia exposure

Intermittent hypoxia training (IHT) is a promising approach that has been used to induce acclimatization to hypoxia and subsequently lower the risk of developing acute mountain sickness (AMS). However, the effects of IHT on cognitive and cerebrovascular function after acute hypoxia exposure have not been characterized. In the present study, we first confirmed that the simplified IHT paradigm was effective at relieving AMS at 4300 m. Second, we found that IHT improved participants&#39; cognitive and neural alterations when they were exposed to hypoxia. Specifically, impaired working memory performance, decreased conflict control function, impaired cognitive control, and aggravated mental fatigue induced by acute hypoxia exposure were significantly alleviated in the IHT group. Furthermore, a reversal of brain swelling induced by acute hypoxia exposure was visualized in the IHT group using magnetic resonance imaging. An increase in cerebral blood flow (CBF) was observed in multiple brain regions of the IHT group after hypoxia exposure as compared with the control group. Based on these findings, the simplified IHT paradigm might facilitate hypoxia acclimatization, alleviate AMS symptoms, and increase CBF in multiple brain regions, thus ameliorating brain swelling and cognitive dysfunction.</p