This paper examines the intricate relationship between China’s First Five-Year Plan (1953–1957) and the extensive Soviet aid that played a pivotal role in shaping early industrialization and economic policy in New China. Drawing upon both Chinese and Western literature, the study reviews the evolution of planned economy practices and Soviet economic assistance, analyzes the process of plan formulation and the formulation of key industrial targets, and assesses the quantitative and qualitative impact of Soviet aid on the successful implementation of the plan. By employing a multi-perspective literature review, archival research, and statistical data analysis, the paper identifies that Soviet technology, machinery, and planning expertise contributed significantly, estimates suggest that Soviet aid accounted for 30-40% of the capital inputs in key sectors and that this collaboration was instrumental in achieving heavy industry targets before the advent of reform and opening-up policies. Furthermore, the paper explores the subsequent divergence in the economic models of China and the Soviet Union, offering lessons on dependency, technology transfer, and the political dimensions of foreign aid. The findings not only contribute to our understanding of the early stages of China’s economic development but also shed light on the broader dynamics of Cold War-era international economic cooperation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped regional economic landscapes. However, academic research has not yet sufficiently addressed how external investment in regions has been transformed under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and its influence on industrial evolution patterns. In this paper, we integrate insights from economic geography literature and develop a conceptual framework to further theorise the relationship between external shocks, changes in the industrial heterogeneity of investment from regional core cities, and local industrial dynamics. Using the COVID-19 pandemic and the Yangtze River Delta region as a case study, we employ an intensity-based Difference-in-Differences (DID) approach and draw on business registration and enterprise investment databases to estimate the impact of the pandemic shock on the evolution of local industrial dynamics between 2018 and 2024. Our findings indicate that after the core cities underwent the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic, the path dependence of industrial evolution in their surrounding areas significantly increased. The stronger the economic linkage with Shanghai, the more pronounced this effect. However, this impact also exhibits spatial heterogeneity across the Yangtze River Delta, associated with regional industrial division of labour and cooperation. This paper offers an innovative examination of how changes in the industrial heterogeneity of investment inflows from core cities—specifically, dimensions such as relatedness to local industries, industrial upgrading, and diversification—shape the mechanisms of local industrial evolution following the COVID-19 shock. Our findings offer important implications for regional development and adaptive responses in the post-pandemic era.

In this paper, we design two chapters to discuss trade dynamics with heterogeneous fluctuations, contributing new insights to macroeconomic issues related to international trade. In the first chapter, we model general exchange rate fluctuations through stochastic processes and analyze the impact of heterogeneous price shocks on export competitiveness. We find that monetary policy and innovation both show positive effects on export trade, while monetary policy stabilizes exchange rate fluctuations to comprehensively boost provincial export competitiveness, innovation reduces its reliance on exchange rate mechanisms. The optimal policy according to exchange rate fluctuations aims to solve the wealth distribution of exporters, and it suggests that optimal policy should promote dynamic transitions in trade patterns rather than maintain existing comparative advantages in heterogeneous trade structures. In the second chapter, we model labor market fluctuations and the ability to utilize production factors through stochastic processes, and we analyze the impact of heterogeneous aggregate production shocks on general international trade. We find that labor market fluctuations only benefit international trade under the cooperation policy. Moreover, for both sanction and cooperation policy scenarios, positive shocks (i.e., shocks where average wage growth in the labor market exceeds unemployment) strengthen their impact on import trade while weakening their impact on export trade, and vice versa. Regarding the theories proposed in these two chapters, we prove them through empirical analyses using the provincial data of China.

The co-holding of mutually interdependent pairs of heterogeneous blocks can provide firms with stable financial support. The interdependence of heterogeneous blockholders’ investment decision has become an important frontier in the financial literature on large shareholders. In this paper, we study the interdependence of heterogeneous blocks in China. We find significant positive interdependence among blockholders of the same type. In heterogeneous block pairs, the financial–private pair shows positive interdependence. The findings are in contrast to those observed in the US. Under the mixed-ownership reform in China, our findings suggest the potential for cooperation among multiple blocks of the same type rather than between heterogeneous strategic partners.

While a wide range of managerial practices suggest that coopetition plays a crucial role in advancing firm innovation, how this effect occurs and the boundary conditions remain unclear. The literature revealing the specific mechanisms by which inter-firm coopetition affects firm innovation, including mediating mechanisms and boundary conditions, is still insufficient. By integrating the resource dependence theory and the capability view, this study explores how firm agility links inter-firm coopetition and open innovation within industrial clusters. In addition, based on conceptualizing coopetition as a concept containing three elements (cooperation, constructive conflict, and destructive conflict), this study examines government intervention in industrial clusters as a boundary factor and explores how it affects the relationship between inter-firm coopetition and firm agility. Based on the analysis of a sample of 181 industrial cluster firms in China, the results of this study show that firm agility mediates the relationship between cooperation, constructive conflict, and open innovation, respectively, and that government intervention diminishes both the facilitating effect of constructive conflict on firm agility and the negative effect of destructive conflict on firm agility. The findings contribute to the understanding of how and when coopetition affects open innovation and provide a theoretical basis for firms to utilize coopetition to innovate successfully.

Informal institutions can play a crucial role in fostering corporate and policy innovation, especially when formal institutions are weak. However, their intangible nature makes them difficult to quantify. In this paper, we proxy the strength of kinship-based informal institutions using surname homogeneity among business owners, specifically, the extent to which they share a limited number of surnames within the same county. Our analysis reveals that a one-standard-deviation increase in the strength of informal institutions leads to a 21.1% increase in patent filings and an 18.9% increase in policy innovation. We find that kinship-related informal institutions foster corporate innovation by compensating for weak formal institutions, enhancing protection for intellectual property rights, facilitating access to finance, improving public service delivery, and promoting supply chain cooperation. We also suggest that kinship-related informal institutions encourage local governments to engage in policy experimentation, which relies on the collaboration of business owners. This experimentation process is easier to coordinate and monitor in counties dominated by a few kinship networks. Both informal institutions and policy innovation contribute to economic development and foster entrepreneurial market entries. However, the positive impact of informal institutions declines over time as formal institutions strengthen in China.

The Treaty of Shimonoseki was signed in 1895 and led to the deregulation of Chinese private enterprise investment in state monopolized industries. Newly founded enterprises necessitated cooperation amongst member-owners for access to primitive capital. A spirit of cooperative behavior thus resulted in the birth of enterprises in China. We used Chinese prefecture-level panel data between 1880 and 1899 to demonstrate that an increase in the number of enterprises brought by the deregulation is more likely to form in regions that culturally nurture cooperative behavior. We also found a persistent influence of cooperative culture on foundation of enterprises today.

In the international context of the surging tide of anti-globalization, China will raise the establishment of pilot free trade zone as a national strategy, and achieve the goal of promoting highquality economic growth through a series of reform measures, such as promoting investment liberalization and facilitation, improving investment promotion and protection mechanisms, and improving the level of overseas investment cooperation. To study the role of the pilot free trade zones on investment, the panel data of 46 cities from 2005 to 2018 are used to empirically test the investment growth effect and investment spillover effect of the pilot free trade zones by using the Difference-in-Differences Spatial Dubin Model. The results show that the pilot free trade zones can significantly promote investment growth and have a spillover effect on investment in surrounding areas. Through the grouping regression of the eastern, central, and western regions, it is found that the eastern pilot free trade zones have the most obvious investment spillover effect on the surrounding areas, and the central pilot free trade zones have a siphon effect on the investment in the surrounding areas. In addition, different batches of pilot free trade zones or the same batch of pilot free trade zones have different investment spillover effects on surrounding areas at different time points. Finally, policy suggestions are put forward: strengthen the strategic implementation of the pilot free trade zones, improve the spatial radiation mechanism, promote linkage development and differentiated development, and make the pilot free trade zones better promote investment growth and investment spillover.

This study aims to examine the influence of Chinese immigrants on Canadian business culture and the role of Chinese business associations in shaping the Canadian business landscape. A qualitative research design was used to explore the topic, and semi-structured interviews were conducted as the primary method of data collection. 25 participants were selected for the study through purposive sampling, including Chinese immigrant business owners, employees of Chinese-owned businesses, and members of Chinese business associations in Canada. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data collected through the interviews and identify patterns and themes that emerged from the participants’ responses. The study found that Chinese immigrants have had a significant influence on Canadian business culture and that Chinese business associations play an important role in promoting business cooperation between different cultural groups. The results also suggest that embracing cultural diversity in the business environment has both benefits and challenges, and businesses must effectively manage cultural diversity in the workplace to promote cooperation between different cultural groups. This study provides valuable insights into the ways in which Chinese immigrants have shaped the Canadian business landscape and the importance of embracing cultural diversity in the business environment. [译]本研究旨在探讨华裔移民对加拿大商业文化的影响，以及华人商业协会在塑造加拿大商业格局中的作用。本研究采用定性研究设计，以半结构化访谈作为主要的数据收集方法。通过目标抽样选定了25名参与者，包括加拿大华裔移民企业主、华裔企业员工，以及加拿大华人商业协会的成员。本研究通过访谈收集数据，并使用主题分析法对参与者的回答进行模式和主题的识别与分析。研究发现，华裔移民对加拿大商业文化产生了显著影响，同时，华人商业协会在促进不同文化群体之间的商业合作中发挥着重要作用。研究结果还表明，在商业环境中拥抱文化多样性既带来了利益也带来了挑战，企业必须有效地管理工作场所中的文化多样性，以促进不同文化群体之间的合作。本研究为理解华裔移民如何塑造加拿大商业格局，以及商业环境中拥抱文化多样性的重要性提供了有价值的见解。

In today’s global business landscape, successful cross-cultural collaboration is not just an asset but a necessity. This article explores essential strategies for achieving effective collaboration between Chinese and Canadian business teams, emphasizing the critical role of cultural intelligence. We delve into understanding cultural differences, their impact on decision-making and communication, and the keys to building high-performing cross-cultural teams. Real-world case studies highlight success stories, and actionable strategies for bridging cultural gaps are provided. By embracing these insights, businesses can unlock the potential of cross-cultural cooperation, leading to better decision-making, enhanced communication, and stronger, more effective teams.