Search Results (71)

Against the backdrop of China’s “triple carbon” goals, carbon peaking by 2030, carbon reduction by 2035, and carbon neutrality by 2060, examining the impacts of the clean energy equipment manufacturing industry’s (CEEMI’s) imports on carbon emissions holds significant practical importance for promoting sustainable development. Based on provincial panel data from 2001 to 2023, we employed a STIRPAT model to analyze how the CEEMI’s imports affect China’s carbon emissions. We further explored the sustainable transformation mechanism from two perspectives, global value chain (GVC) participation and green technological progress. The results indicate that a 1% increase in imports leads to a 0.1312% reduction in carbon emissions. Mechanism tests show that imports lower emissions primarily by increasing backward GVC participation and promoting green patent innovation. Heterogeneity analysis further reveals that the emission-abating effects are more pronounced in high-income and industry-dominated provinces, and that imports of lithium batteries exhibit stronger emission-abating effects than those of wind turbines and solar PVs. Full article

This study conceptualises the local production network as a complex system composed of domestic enterprises (DOEs) and foreign-invested companies (FIEs) that are interconnected and co-evolving. We define the embeddedness of FIEs according to three types—DOEs–FIEs, FIEs–DOEs and FIEs–FIEs—and examine how the different types of FIE embeddedness influence the functional upgrading of domestic value chains. Using the 2024 OECD database on multinational enterprises’ activities, we empirically assess the embeddedness of FIEs and the functional upgrading of manufacturing industries in 14 sub-sectors from 2003 to 2020. The results show that the embeddedness of FIEs facilitates overall functional upgrading, particularly in R&D and management, though no significant effect is found in marketing. Mechanism analysis reveals that FIE embeddedness in China’s manufacturing value chain primarily drives functional upgrades through productivity and creation effects. Heterogeneity analysis shows that FIE activities of both types, “DOEs–FIEs” and “FIEs–DOEs”, positively influence R&D upgrading, while those of the “FIEs–FIEs” type promote management upgrading. In contrast, “FIEs–DOEs” activities hinder marketing upgrading. This study provides empirical evidence of the role of FIE embeddedness in functional upgrading and offers a theoretical basis to develop policies that guide foreign capital toward higher value functions. Full article

Pakistan’s solar boom, now contributing 25% of its utility electricity, the highest among major countries, presents a strategic opportunity to localize solar supply chains within Special Economic Zones (SEZs) under the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). This study investigates pathways for enabling solar localization, identifies key barriers to local manufacturing, and assesses the potential for domestic value chain development. Employing a mixed-methods approach, combining policy analysis, stakeholder consultations, and feasibility analysis, the study outlines an implementation strategy centered on leveraging SEZs and promoting technology transfer. Results indicate that if Pakistan succeeds in localizing even half of its solar imports, it could reduce import dependency and switching to solar energy could potentially save over $5 billion over two decades. This shift would not only enhance energy security but also enhance sustainable industrial development under CPEC 2.0. Full article

Global supply chains are increasingly exposed to systemic disruptions driven by environmental pressures, geopolitical instability, and social unrest. Although Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) is a strategic approach balancing sustainability and competitiveness, current research remains fragmented and regionally focused. Prior research has identified critical chokepoints and conceptualized disruption propagation through simulation and event system theory, yet few studies have operationalized large-scale empirical datasets to quantify cross-domain resilience. Addressing this gap, we collected and analyzed over 1.8 million news articles from more than 705 global portals spanning October 2023 to September 2025. Using GPT-based autonomous classification, approximately 67,434 disruption events directly related to GSCM were extracted and categorized by event type, geography, and significance. A system-of-systems framework was employed, linking seven domains: environment and climate, energy and resources, manufacturing and production, logistics and transportation, trade and commerce, agri-food systems, and labor and social systems. The results demonstrate that disruptions are unevenly distributed. The United States (8945 events), China (7822), and India (5311) emerged as global hubs, while Saudi Arabia acted as a single-domain chokepoint in energy. Energy and resources accounted for 22 percent of all events, followed by logistics (19 percent) and manufacturing (17 percent). Temporal analysis revealed major spikes in February 2024 (56,595 weighted intensity units) and June 2024 (10,861 units). Correlation analysis confirmed strong interdependencies across domains with average values greater than 0.7. This study contributes a globally scalable, data-driven framework to quantify disruption intensity, frequency, and interdependence in GSCM. It advances resilience research and offers actionable insights for policymakers and industry leaders. Full article

At present, the construction of China’s shared manufacturing platform is developing rapidly. However, it is still in the stage of practical exploration, facing numerous challenges, such as difficulties in resource integration, immature business models, and a weak digital foundation. This paper takes Changzhou Zhiyun Tiangong’s “Super Virtual Factory” as an example, utilizing the grounded theory to conduct a case study on this shared manufacturing platform. Using a ‘condition-action-result’ framework, this paper explores the value co-creation (VCC) mechanism in a shared manufacturing ecosystem. We analyze how digital intelligence convergence (DIC) and supply chain collaboration (SCC) facilitate the digital intelligence transformation of consumption, production capacity, and products. The study finds that consumer insight, technological drive, government support, enterprise challenges, and the Changzhou home appliance industry cluster are the internal driving forces for the shared manufacturing ecosystem to carry out industrial ecological VCC; DIC and SCC are the two key elements for digital intelligence technology empowerment. Digital intelligence technology is empowered from three aspects—technology, resources, and structure—enabling organizational members with capability and authority while achieving “decentralization” of industrial chains. Finally, digital intelligence empowerment enables the shared manufacturing ecosystem to achieve VCC of the industrial ecosystem, thereby establishing a VCC model for the digital intelligence empowerment shared manufacturing ecosystem. The results of the study not only help enrich the theory of VCC in shared manufacturing platforms but also provide practical insights for the digital intelligence transformation of traditional manufacturing enterprises. Full article

Embodied energy flows link production systems with the energy sector, reflecting dependencies and structural risks under globalization and regional coordination. Guangdong, China’s most manufacturing-intensive, open, and energy-consuming province, is a central hub in both global value chains and domestic production networks, playing a pivotal role in national energy security. Understanding Guangdong’s embodied energy flows is essential for revealing the transmission of energy across multi-level spatial systems and the resilience of China’s energy infrastructure. This study integrates international (EXIOBASE) and Chinese inter-provincial input–output data to build a province-level nested global MRIO model, combined with Structural Path Analysis (SPA), to characterize Guangdong’s manufacturing embodied energy flows in domestic and international dual circulation from 2002 to 2017. Our findings confirm Guangdong’s pivotal bridging role in embodied energy transfers. First, flows are dual-directional and dominated by international transfers. Second, energy efficiency has improved, narrowing the intensity gap between export- and domestic-oriented industries. Third, flows have diversified spatially from concentration in developed regions toward developing regions, with domestic inter-provincial flows more dispersed. Finally, embodied energy remains highly concentrated across sectors, with leading industries shifting from labor- and capital-intensive to capital- and technology-intensive sectors. This research offers vital empirical evidence and policy reference for enhancing national energy security and optimizing spatial energy allocation. Full article

With the rapid advance of digital technologies, the service industry has become a key driver of sustainable economic growth and the restructuring of international trade. Drawing on value-added trade flows for five pivotal service industries—construction, air transportation, postal telecommunications, financial intermediation, and education—over 2013–2021, this study examines the spatial evolution of the global service value chain (GSVC). Using social network analysis combined with a Temporal Exponential Random Graph Model (TERGM), we assess the dynamics of the GSVC’ core–periphery structure and identify heterogeneous determinants shaping their spatial networks. The findings are as follows: (1) Exports across the five industries display an “East rising, West declining” pattern, with markedly heterogeneous magnitudes of change. (2) The construction industry is Europe-centered; air transportation exhibits a U.S.–China bipolar structure; postal telecommunications show the most pronounced “East rising, West declining” shift, forming four poles (United States, United Kingdom, Germany, China); financial intermediation contracts to a five-pole core (China, United States, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany); and education becomes increasingly multipolar. (3) The GSVC core–periphery system undergoes substantial reconfiguration, with some peripheral economies moving toward the core; the core expands in air transportation, while postal telecommunications exhibit strong regionalization. (4) Digital technology, foreign direct investment, and manufacturing structure promote network evolution, whereas income similarity may dampen it; the effects of economic freedom and labor-force size on spatial network restructuring differ significantly by industry. These results underscore the complex interplay of structural, institutional, and geographic drivers in reshaping GSVC networks and carry implications for fostering sustainable services trade, enhancing interregional connectivity, narrowing global development gaps, and advancing an inclusive digital transformation. Full article

Metal additive manufacturing (AM) has become a crucial technology for rapid prototyping and enhancing the efficiency of producing lighter components. Despite these advantages, many challenges remain. We examine how mineral-rich developing countries can upgrade in the metal AM global value chain (GVC). We do so by applying the theory of GVCs and the multi-level perspective (MLP) framework to the metal powder segment. We investigate how Kazakhstan can link itself to the metal AM GVC by cooperating with China. Our case studies are based on 20 interviews with metal AM industry experts and scholars from Kazakhstan, China, and Europe. Using the MLP framework, we identify eight drivers that have enabled China to become prominent in the global metal AM industry. In addition, we identify eight barriers restricting Kazakhstan’s upgrading. For Kazakhstan to begin producing metal powders for AM, we suggest that its government start by implementing three policies, based on China’s experience: improve education and training systems, with a focus on advanced metallurgy; target AM industry segments in which cost, not quality, is a primary focus; and adopt international standards for metal AM-related activities. Our findings offer important lessons for other mineral-rich developing countries that may be more relevant than experiences from developed nations. Full article

This study develops a comprehensive analytical framework to examine how nations secure core positions in global supply chains (GSCs) for key industries. It combines a comparative analysis of advanced economies—Los Angeles (aerospace), Munich (high-end manufacturing), London (biopharmaceuticals), and Tokyo (automotive)—with a survey-based empirical assessment of Chinese industry practitioners. Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), factor analysis and the Delphi method, an evaluation framework is constructed across five dimensions: technology, value, governance, resilience, and sustainability. The findings show that developed economies sustain their leadership through upstream innovation and standard-setting, coordination of high-value activities, integrated industrial ecosystems, and risk-buffering mechanisms. Empirical results reveal that while China demonstrates relative strengths in governance and value creation, it continues to lag in frontier technologies, resilience, and sustainability. Building on both comparative and empirical evidence, the study proposes strategic pathways for China’s key industries, including technological breakthroughs, innovation-driven clusters, governance reforms, digital resilience, and green cooperation. These insights provide actionable guidance for policymakers and highlight how latecomer economies can transform structural disadvantages into innovation momentum, evolving from participants to rule-setters in global supply chains. Full article

The supply chain is a critical tool for enterprises to withstand risks and ensure sustainable development. Integrating green and environmentally friendly practices into the supply chain has become an increasingly prominent trend. This study examines the impact of green supply chain management (GSCM) on supply chain resilience, using the green supply chain pilot projects implemented in China as a quasi-natural experiment, employing a multi-period difference-in-difference (DID) model. Based on panel data from manufacturing enterprises listed on the A-share market in China from 2014 to 2022, the findings reveal three key insights. First, GSCM significantly improves the resilience of enterprise supply chains. Second, GSCM has both signaling and cost effects, as it can reduce corporate financing costs and enhance market value, lower market transaction costs, and improve productivity. These are potential channels through which GSCM exerts a positive influence. Third, the positive impact of GSCM on supply chain resilience is more pronounced in enterprises with third-party environmental certifications and higher institutional shareholder ratios. Additionally, this study also extends to demonstrate that GSCM directly and positively influences corporate environmental performance. These findings provide policy recommendations for enhancing green supply chain development and offer managerial insights to help enterprises proactively embrace green transformation. Full article

Achieving sustainable development goals remains a core issue in global development. In response, China has proposed the development of new quality productive forces (NQPFs) through innovative thinking, emphasizing that fostering NQPFs is both an intrinsic requirement and a pivotal focus for advancing high-quality development. Concurrently, the intelligent transformation of the manufacturing sector serves as a critical direction for China’s economic restructuring and upgrading. This paper places “new quality productive forces” and “intelligent transformation of manufacturing” within the same analytical framework. Starting from the logical chain of “new quality productive forces—three major mechanisms—intelligent transformation of manufacturing,” it concretizes the value implications of new quality productive forces into a systematic conceptual framework driven by the synergistic interaction of three major mechanisms: the mechanism of revolutionary technological breakthroughs, the mechanism of innovative allocation of production factors, and the mechanism of deep industrial transformation and upgrading. This study constructs a “3322” evaluation index system for NQPFs, based on three formative processes, three driving forces, two supporting systems, and two-dimensional characteristics. Simultaneously, it builds an evaluation index system for the intelligent transformation of manufacturing, encompassing intelligent technology, intelligent applications, and intelligent benefits. Using national time-series data from 2012 to 2023, this study assesses the development levels of both NQPFs and the intelligent transformation of manufacturing during this period. The study further analyzes the impact of NQPFs on the intelligent transformation of the manufacturing sector. The research results indicate the following: (1) NQPFs drive the intelligent transformation of the manufacturing industry through the three mechanisms of innovative allocation of production factors, revolutionary breakthroughs in technology, and deep transformation and upgrading of industries. (2) The development of NQPFs exhibits a slow upward trend; however, the outbreak of the pandemic and Sino-US trade frictions have caused significant disruptions to the development of new-type productive forces. (3) The level of intelligent manufacturing continues to improve; however, from 2020 to 2023, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and Sino-US trade conflicts, the level of intelligent benefits has slightly declined. (4) NQPFs exert a powerful driving force on the intelligent transformation of manufacturing, exerting a significant positive impact on intelligent technology, intelligent applications, and intelligent efficiency levels. Full article

In addressing the complexities of sustainable development, the integration of digital technologies (DTs) with supply chain collaboration offers firms diverse strategic solutions. While prior studies have examined how DT shapes internal decision-making and stakeholder engagement, limited attention has been paid to how DT influences the dynamic collaborative capabilities of distinct supply chain stakeholders in advancing corporate sustainability. Grounded in the dynamic resource-based view (Dynamic RBV), this study conceptualizes sustainable dynamic capabilities (SDCs) as comprising sustainable information capability (SIC) and sustainable relationship capability (SRC)—the abilities to share sustainability-related information and to adapt and leverage external sustainable partnerships, respectively. Using panel data from manufacturing firms listed on China’s Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share markets between 2010 and 2023, sourced from CSMAR and iFinD databases, this study employs fixed-effects and system GMM models to test the proposed relationships. Results show that DT enhances SIC, which in turn facilitates SRC, ultimately improving corporate sustainability performance (CSP). Moreover, firms at different supply chain positions exhibit distinct sustainability priorities as upstream suppliers focus on resource efficiency, while downstream customers emphasize environmental compliance and product-level sustainability. These upstream and downstream actors influence CSP through two mechanisms—resource-driven “source-push” and demand-driven “value chain-pull”. This study deepens the understanding of stakeholder heterogeneity in sustainable collaboration and offers practical insights for managers to tailor sustainability strategies that reinforce supply chain-wide dynamic capabilities. Full article

Global value chain (GVC) restructuring has important implications for the transformation of corporate outward foreign direct investment (OFDI), a process that is closely linked to sustainable economic development. Based on panel data from 2007 to 2021, this paper comprehensively applies the fixed effects model, mediation effects analysis, heterogeneity test, and regression analysis to explore how global value chain restructuring promotes the sustainable transformation of corporate OFDI, and it examines the role mechanisms of factor endowment and market scale expansion in the process. The conclusions are as follows: (1) Global value chain restructuring can promote manufacturing enterprises’ OFDI transformation. (2) Global value chain restructuring promotes the transformation of manufacturing OFDI through two channels: factor endowments and market scale. (3) Against countries’ different backgrounds, there are significant differences in the impacts of global value chain restructuring on enterprises’ OFDI. The research results of this paper can provide important insights for relevant government departments and enterprises in formulating management policies. Full article

China’s leading development of a complete battery value chain for electric vehicles (EVs) is restructuring the global automotive sector. In contrast with the normal point of view, which emphasizes the role of industrial policy, this article argues that the competitive advantage of China’s EV battery industry lies in firms’ core competency and political economic geography. Based on first-hand empirical material and data obtained from years of fieldwork carried out at an EV battery cluster in south China, this paper identifies the Chinese EV battery industry’s core competency and details how it is built up from below. The current core competency of Chinese battery firms is their mass manufacturing capability, which allows them to supply vehicle manufacturers (OEMs) with lithium-ion batteries of stable and consistent quality at competitive prices. This competency is acquired by firms through technological learning at the workshop level while making use of the experiences they have accumulated while mass producing batteries for consumer electronics sectors. Furthermore, the rapid learning and accumulation of knowledge of battery manufacturing on a large scale is also facilitated by the local industrial cluster environment where firms are embedded. Supported and promoted by local government policies, Chinese EV battery clusters are composed of firms from different segments of a complete battery value chain. The findings have significant implications for battery and car makers in global competition as well as for national and local governments which aim to promote EV battery development. Full article

The Free Trade Area (FTA) strategy and the participation of enterprises in global value chains (GVCs) are important aspects of China’s high-quality economic development stage. This study matches trade data from the China Customs Import and Export database with information from listed firms in the CSMAR database, calculating the firms’ GVC embeddedness and the depth of trade agreements at the firm level. On this basis, this research employs a gravity model with fixed effects to empirically analyze the impact and mechanism of the FTA strategy on the embedding of Chinese listed firms in GVCs, utilizing data from 2000 to 2006. The results demonstrate that the FTA strategy substantially enhances the embeddedness of Chinese listed enterprises in GVCs. The heterogeneity analysis indicates that state-owned enterprises, those located in the central and western regions, manufacturing firms, and high-tech industry enterprises derive greater advantages from the FTA strategy in terms of their embeddedness in GVCs. Moreover, the mechanism analysis indicates that the FTA strategy enhances the embeddedness of enterprises in GVCs by increasing their technological innovation levels. Additionally, the internal control costs of enterprises negatively moderate the impact of the FTA strategy on their embedding in GVCs, and a “substitution effect” exists between asset operating efficiency and the FTA strategy in promoting the GVC embedding of listed firms. These findings provide empirical evidence and policy recommendations for the Chinese government to enhance the FTA strategy and sustainably improve the embeddedness of Chinese listed enterprises in GVCs. Full article