The Belt and Road Initiative—where the "Belt" stands for the Silk Road Economic Belt and the "Road" stands for the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road—is a call of China for new modes of regional economic cooperation under the trend of development of economic globalization. It targets at promoting orderly and free flow of economic factors, efficient allocation of resources, and deep integration of markets; enabling the countries along the Belt and Road to achieve economic policy coordination and carry out broader, deeper, and more efficient economic cooperation; and jointly building an open, inclusive, and balanced regional economic cooperation architecture. Thus the Belt and Road Initiative is an alternative road to further economic globalization, but contains ideas that are different from the past, that is, the spirit of the Silk Road—"peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and win-win." Based on such an understanding, this article first analyzes the general background of the Belt and Road Initiative against economic globalization and the changing configurations of the world, and then discusses the Initiative's spatial connotation by revealing its multi-scalar and trans-scalar characteristics. The article points out that the Belt and Road Initiative is a national strategy, rather than a regional strategy, to coordinate all-around opening of China to the world and promote further integration of the country into the global economy. Last, the article suggests several research themes in geography that are brought about by the Belt and Road Initiative, including geopolitical studies, geography of countries of the region to explore cooperation opportunities, foreign direct investment theories advanced by the Belt and Road Initiative, and optimization of transcontinental transportation.
The "Belt and Road Initiative" is and will continue to be an overall strategy of China's all round opening-up for a long time into the future. The building of the "Belt and Road" has become a long term national strategy for China, which will have great impacts on the spatial pattern of China's territory development. Based on an analysis of the current characteristics of the spatial pattern of China's territory development, this study examines the influence of the "Belt and Road Initiative" on the spatial pattern of China's territory development with regard to the all round opening-up, improvement of facilities connectivity, changes of energy supply system, trade, and social and culture exchanges. The "Belt and Road Initiative" emphasizes international facilities connectivity and all-dimensional opening-up including in the coastal, border, and inland areas. Based on the great international transport and economic corridors proposed by the Chinese government in the "Vision and Action on Jointly Building Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road," this article mainly analyzes the impacts of different international economic corridors on territory development in different regions. The main results are as follows. (1) The "Belt and Road Initiative" will have great impacts on the spatial pattern of China's territory development. Although different international economic corridors influence different regions, the western region of China will benefit the most from the "Belt and Road Initiative", which conduces to shape an equitable territory development. (2) The "Belt and Road Initiative" will facilitate the formation of several metropolitan economic areas and economically highly developed areas in the inland area that open to the outside, such as Xi'an, Chengdu, Chongqing, Urumqi, Kunming, Nanning, Wuhan, Zhengzhou, and so on. These areas will form an all round opening-up territory development pattern. (3) The "Belt and Road Initiative" will provide more economic hinterland for the coastal areas' industrial structure upgrading and economic development, which will strengthen the coastal areas' international competitiveness and help to form a high efficiency territory development pattern. (4) The "Belt and Road Initiative" will accelerate the development of port of entry and inland border cities, such as Dongxing, Ruili, Manzhouli, Erenhot, Khorgas, and promote the development of cross-border economic cooperation areas based on successful implementation of the Khorgas cross-border economic cooperation area, which will drive the development of border areas that will become an important region for territory development.
The Belt and Road Initiative aims to promote the connectivity of Asian, European, and African continents and adjacent seas and establish and strengthen partnerships among the countries along the Belt and Road Initiative area. The construction of international air transport network and land transport and maritime shipping corridors constitutes the three basic parts of transportation infrastructure and connectivity. This article employs the OAG (formerly Official Airline Guide) flight schedule data of 2014 to first analyze the spatial pattern of international air linkages between China and the other 64 countries in the Belt and Road Initiative area, and then identify China's international hub airports and sub-regional hubs based on the graph theory model. The results indicate that: (1) the coverage and intensity of international air passenger linkages is broader and higher than that of air cargo linkages. China's international air passenger linkages mainly focus on Thailand, Russia, and Singapore; while cargo linkages are primarily with Russia; (2) both the international air and cargo linkages show the "hub-spoke" and "point to point" patterns; (3) among the domestic airports, international air linkages are concentrated in only a few. Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou are identified as the international air passenger hubs and Shanghai as the international cargo hub to the Belt and Road Initiative area.
The Vision and Actions on Jointly Building Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road policy document was issued by the Chinese government on 28 March 2015. How to implement the overall national strategy becomes a major topic of theoretical discussion with much practical significance, namely, to promote the international competitiveness and upgrading of Chinese industries, and achieve common prosperity among countries in the Belt and Road Initiative area through Chinese outward direct investment (ODI). Existing literature on ODI originated largely from developed countries, and thus cannot satisfactorily explain the booming ODI from emerging countries such as China. Moreover, the research on Chinese foreign direct investment focused more on the natural resources and market factors in analyzing motivations and driving forces, mainly based on historical data. There is little discussion on large scale, national demand-oriented Chinese ODI strategy, for example, in the Belt and Road Initiative area. Against this background, this article investigates the spatial strategy of Chinese outward direct investment (ODI) in the Belt and Road Initiative area, using statistical data and results from fieldwork and interviews. It first develops a theoretical framework to investigate Chinese outward direct investment in the Belt and Road Initiative area based on a review of existing research on foreign direct investment. It then analyzes the basic characteristics of Chinese ODI in this region with regard to its spatial distribution and choice of sectors. Third, the article explores difficulties and challenges that Chinese enterprises will face when they implement the “going global” strategy. Finally, it investigates the spatially differentiated investment guiding strategy for Chinese ODI in the Belt and Road Initiative area.
Economic cooperation is one of the priority areas in the "Belt and Road Initiative" proposed by China. It is important to examine the characteristics and patterns of development of trade between China and countries in the "Belt and Road Initiative" area, for achieving "unimpeded trade" and promoting economic prosperity and regional cooperation. Under this background, this article reviews the changing trend of commodity structure of trade between China and countries in the "Belt and Road Initiative" area, and analyzes the commodity structure and pattern, based on the revealed comparative advantage index (RCA), sensitive industry identification method, and k-medium value clustering. The results show that the commodity structure of China's export to these countries has improved, while import has been more centralized with increasing share of energy. Second, the main products that China exports to these countries are mechanical equipment and textiles and garments, while the main products that China imports are mostly energy, textiles and garments, and mechanical equipment. Third, sensitive industries involved in China's exports include clothing and shoes, nonmetallic minerals, transportation equipment and so on, and those involved in China's imports are mainly ores, energy, and some primary processed products. Fourth, at the provincial level, eastern, central, and some western provinces that do not share border with other countries, are mainly connected to Southeast Asia, West Asia, and Middle East, while western and northern border provinces are mainly dependent on trade with neighboring countries in the area, and have more ties with Central Asia, South Asia, and Mongolia-Russia. Most eastern provinces, central provinces, and several fast-growing western provinces are mainly exporting mechanical equipment, while most northwestern provinces are mainly exporting clothing. On the other hand, energy is the main product imported to Qinghai, Xinjiang, Liaoning, Heilongjiang, and other eastern provinces, while ores and metal products are main imported to most western provinces.
China's transnational container transport by land in the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) has increased quickly, and rail is the most important method for land transport. By analyzing the current transnational container transport between China and other countries in the SREB, we first build a simulation model for multimodal transport competition, and then examine the economically suitable areas for China's transnational container transport by rail and maritime transport based on travel distance, travel time, and transport cost. The results show that Central Asia, Mongolia, and the central and eastern areas of Russia have comparative advantages for transnational container transport by rail as compared to maritime transport. To Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, and the western areas of Russia, transnational container transport by rail has relative comparative advantages. Meanwhile, maritime transport (or sea-land intermodal transport) costs less than rail transport from China to most of the remaining areas of Europe and Asia.
Border ports play a substantial role in socioeconomic exchanges that reflect the diplomatic relations between neighboring countries. As a platform for cooperation and opening-up, the Belt and Road Initiative will boost the development of border ports. This article maps and analyzes the evolution process of border ports in China since the 1930s with regard to their spatial distribution, transport modes, and flows of cargo and people. Based on the relative concentration index (RCI), five function types of border ports are summarized according to the functions and development levels of border ports and cities. The results of the spatiotemporal distribution analysis show that there were three stages and two peak periods for the opening of border ports in China since the beginning of the 1950s. The opening of border ports is closely related to the bilateral relations with neighboring countries and complementarities of natural resources and economic development, as well as foreign policies. Nearly half of the border ports in China have limited urban functions due to the adverse natural environment and small population size. The findings of this study may help to understand the development of the border port system that is an important part of the Belt and Road Initiative of China.
Policy coordination, facilities connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration, and people-to-people bond are the focus of international cooperation of the "Belt and Road Initiative". Exports of the provinces in China to the "Belt and Road Initiative" area is the main content of the "Unimpeded trade and Financial integration," but research on trade between China and countries in the "Belt and Road Initiative" area are relatively rare, and trade interdependence remains unclear. According to the latest data from the International Trade Center, Chinese customs statistics in 2014, and Multi-regional Input-Output Table of China's 30 provinces in 2010, we analyzed the trade interdependence between China and countries of the "Belt and Road Initiative" area, and the contribution of provincial export to the GDP of each province. The results show that: trade interdependence had deepen between China and countries of the "Belt and Road Initiative" area, but the interdependence was asymmetrical; at the provincial level, the relatively high GDP contribution of exports in coastal provinces shows that these provinces are more export-dependent. Xinjiang has the highest GDP contribution of export (to Central Asia)and is thus strongly export dependent.
With the process of globalization and regional integration, the world today is increasingly interconnected and interdependent. Meanwhile, more transboundary issues are concerned with competition between countries for resources and environmental services, which involve the global economy, international trade, and national security of countries. Among these issue, geopolitical cooperation in international river basins highlights the development trend of transboundary eco-security. In this article we summarize the main transboundary issues and research advances, demonstrate cases of regulation and mechanism in transboundary eco-security of China.The results indicated that transboundary issues were brought into sharp focus by international rivers, and also were given close attentions on utilization of resources, protection of plants and animals, bioinvasion controlling and disasters monitoring. Interacting with global changes these multi-level issues intensify environmental risks in specific regions. For dealing with transboundary ecological issues, concepts of security as well as a higher-lever geopolitical cooperation need to develop. Furthermore, we put forward some recommendations for further study in the areas of transboundary water resources and climate changes, water security of inflow rivers, pollution in international river basins, interaction and impacts of large-scale engineering projects, combining the "Vision and Actions on Jointly Building Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road".
Technology spillover of industrial transfer is an important form of technology flow and diffusion. This article reviews the evolution of research on technology spillover of industrial transfer and summarizes the main debates in recent years on technology spillover effect of industrial transfer. The view of "significant positive effect" mainly originated from the observation of positive knowledge transfer from developed countries or regions to less developed countries or regions, while the view of "non-significant effect or negative effect"mainly originated from the recognition of obstacles of technology spillover, especially the will of technology spillover of the transferred enterprises. Based on the influence of factors such as technology, donor and receptor, circulation network, distance, and external environment on the technology spillover effect of industrial transfer, this article provides explanations on these debates. The article holds that technology spillover effect of industrial transfer has strong spatiotemporal characteristics. Heterogeneity of technology, space, and agents determines that technology spillover of industrial transfer is not an inevitable economic phenomenon, but a contingent effect deeply influenced by industrial characteristics, regional conditions, and external environment. The main reason for the academic debates is the difference in influencing factors of different regions of empirical research. Moreover, some of the studies did not fully consider the influence of related factors. Future study on technology spillover of industrial transfer should fully consider the characteristics of case study regions and set strict constraints. Finally, this article puts forward five research directions that need to be focused on in future research: (1) contingency of technology spillover of industrial transfer; (2) the influence of technology circulation network; (3) the influence of distance; (4) the control mechanism of transferred enterprises to technology spillover; and (5) the difference of technology spillover mechanisms between international and interregional industrial transfer.
：Spatial patterns of logistics industry is formed by the spatial distribution and structure of logistics facilities and enterprises. In order to examine the current situation and change of spatial patterns of logistics industry in China, we put forward the concepts of "logistics hotness degree "and "primacy index of cities." In August 2014, we obtained 80507 samples of logistics hotness degree data at the prefecture level or above in China based on "logistics" key word search using Baidu maps (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan). Through establishing an index of logistics hotness degree, the correlation between logistics hotness degree and indicators were analyzed. This article presents the construction of the logistics hotness degree index and demonstrates the effectiveness and validity of Internet-based data on logistics industry. Spatial patterns of logistics industry are analyzed in terms of capacity, level of service, and spatial influence at the prefecture,provincial, metropolitan area, and economic zone scales. We explored the impact of economic development and logistics park construction on the evolution of the spatial patterns of logistics industry. Logistics centers were identified and compared to the national and regional logistics hub cities designated in the "Logistics Industry Restructuring and Revitalization Plan" issued by the State Council and the "National Logistics Park Development Planning" issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and 11 other ministries. Some conclusions can be drawn as follows: the logistics hotness degree information is a comprehensive representation of logistics facilities and logistics enterprises.It is highly correlated with GDP, number of primary industry corporation units in transportation, warehousing, and postal services. Economic development level is highly correlated with logistics industry development. The spatial layout of logistics facilities and enterprises is significant correlated with industrial demand and their locations in the transport system; and it increasingly influenced by the of consumption demand and distribution and socioeconomic conditions of population. In the eastern coastal region of China, logistics industry distribution shows the spatial characteristics of "single-center and multiple sub-centers" or "multiple-centers and multiple sub-centers." In the central and western regions, however, the spatial pattern of distribution is characterized by "single -centers," which shows a clear regional difference from the coastal region. The result of this research may provide some guidance for logistics plann ing and logistics industrial policy of the central and regional governments for the thirteenth Five-Year Plan period and beyond.
China has a large equipment manufacture industry. However, compared with developed countries such as Germany, Japan, and the United States, the technology level, innovation ability, and collaborative innovation competence of China's equipment manufacturing industry are far less advanced. In order to identify the types of collaborative innovation partners and influencing factors of the equipment manufacturing industry in China, this study uses a multinomial Logit model to analyze 249 samples from a questionnaire survey at the 15th China International Industry Fair (CIIF) with respect to the industrial chain, integration of production and research, and collaboration between enterprises, and put forward suggestions to promote collaborative innovation. The results reveal that 50% of these enterprises chose clients and suppliers as the most important collaborative partners to develop new mechanical products, 25% of them chose universities and research institutions as collaborative partners, and 10% chose enterprises in the same industry. However, 15% of them did not have any innovation partners. The size of enterprises, research and development (R&D) activities within the enterprises, ability of knowledge absorption, and government support are the main factors that impact the selection of innovation partners. Therefore, a combination of short-term and long-term, as well as vertical and horizontal measures should be taken to push forward collaborative innovation of China's equipment manufacturing industry.
