Chinese construction companies in Angola: A local linkages perspective

China tends to spearhead its economic overtures to African countries through high-level bilateral negotiations. These are frequently in the form of China Exim Bank loans for large-scale infrastructure projects, repaid by resource exports to China. While much is made of China's resource-based activities in Africa, less focus is placed on the converse of this relationship—the infrastructure provision that African resources buy from China. This article takes the positions that local linkages development is one of the clearest ways that African countries can benefit from Chinese construction companies' market engagement. The prevailing view is that Chinese companies contracted to undertake the construction projects financed in this way do not use local labour, materials or any other inputs in the undertaking of their contracts. Focusing on the strategic orientation of large Chinese companies state-owned enterprises (SOEs) operating in Angola's construction sector, this article seeks to uncover the determinants of their sourcing behaviour, and the manner in which this is reflected in their use of local inputs.     

Impact of demographic dynamics on CO_2 emissions in Sichuan,China

Global climate change is one of the major environmental issues faced by humans.Existing evidence indicates that the anthropogenic push for a rise in the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases(GHGs)(particularly CO_2)has been a primary cause for global warming.Aside from economic and teclinological factors,demographic dynamics(including human consumption in a broad demographic sense)has been a major driver for CO_2 emissions.In this paper,we performed both nonlinear regression analysis(based on the STIRPAT model)and gray correlation degree analysis(based on gray system theory)on the impact of demographic dynamics on CO_2 emissions.Our results reveal that CO_2 emissions are positively correlated with population size and GDP per capita and negatively correlated with energy intensity.We also show that gray correlation degree with CO_2 emissions for five variables(i.e.,household consumption,urbanization rate,household size,population aging rate,population size)varies substantially:household consumptionurbanization ratehousehold sizepopulation aging ratepopulation size,with household consumption being the highest,and population size the lowest.To mitigate the impact of demographic dynamics on CO_2 emissions,it is of vital significance to nurture people's awareness of sustainable consumption and to adhere to current population control policies.     

Green and compatible industrial development in Western China

Western China has lagged a lot in terms of industrial structure and economic development,compared with the national average.And China announced its target of CO_2 emission reduction,i.e.by 2020,CO_2 emission per GDP will drop by40-45%compared with 2005.The target will be incorporated into China's long-term industrial planning.Against this background,this paper will make a comprehensive examination of the industrial development of Western China,aiming to discover a green and compatible way.First,we analyze the spatiotemporal evolution of regional industrial structure for the period 2000-2010.Second,we try to discover the industrial structure optimization path for Western China by employing the Vector Auto Regression model.Lastly,we try to provide some advice and suggestions for further industrial development in Western China.Our examination shows that further industrial development in Western China should pay full attention to resource conservation and recycling,and develop on a green and compatible path.     

Analysis of the Energy Embodied in Foreign Goods Trade of China

In recent years, scientists have been increasingly interested in the energy embodied in traded goods among countries. In this article, the direct energy intensities in various economic sectors of China were calculated with the data of energy consumption and output value of each sector, and the input-output table was used to estimate the external energy consumption. The total energy intensity of all sectors was then obtained. From the data of international trade, the energy embodied in goods trade of China was estimated for the period of 1994-2001. During this period, the average energy intensity of imported goods was always higher than that of exported ones. As a country with a surplus in international goods trade, China actually imported net embodied energy in the past few years. The net embodied energy imported was at the same magnitude of the imported energy in the form of fossil fuels.     

华东森林及高山背景区域SO2、NOx、CO本底特征

国家大气背景监测福建武夷山站是中国华东区域背景站点之一，可代表华东森林及高山区域背景状况。为了解该区域的大气背景状况，评估区域污染现状以及污染物输送在区域污染中的作用，选取福建武夷山背景站2011年3月至2012年2月主要气体污染物（SO₂、NO_x、CO）为期1年的监测数据，研究各污染物在不同时间尺度的浓度变化特征和相关关系，以及与气象因子的相关关系，并利用后向轨迹模式探讨区域输送对华东森林及高山背景区域各气体污染物质量浓度的影响。结果表明，武夷山背景点监测期间SO₂、NO_x、CO的平均质量浓度分别为3.9、5.1、409.8 μg/m³，且具有明显的季节变化特征，春、冬季明显高于夏、秋季；三者日变化幅度均很小，呈现出单谷型分布型态，说明武夷山背景点受人为活动的影响很小，主要受气象条件影响；相关性分析结果显示，SO₂与NO_x浓度相关性较好，与湿度有较好的负相关，与风速在冬季具有一定的正相关，NO_x与CO浓度在秋季和冬季的相关性较好，且二者与温度的负相关性较好。后向轨迹分析结果表明，SO₂全年最大浓度峰值主要来自北方采暖季燃煤排放的远距离输送影响，NO_x、CO全年最大值则源于生物质燃烧的远距离输送影响。     

An evaluation of legislative measures on electrical and electronic waste in the People's Republic of China

With the increasing number of recycling mishaps in connection with waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) in the People's Republic of China, it is imperative that the handling and recycling of WEEE be sufficiently regulated in China. Regulations covering three major issues, namely, take-back issues, controls on hazardous substances in WEEE and the assurance of good environmental management in WEEE plants, were promulgated between 2006 and 2008. The evaluation in this country report shows that few of these regulatory measures have performed satisfactorily in terms of enforcement, of public acceptance and of environmental concerns. In brief, the take-back requirements and the associated financial responsibilities are only vaguely defined; the control on hazardous substances and the so-called "environmental expiry date" requirements cannot be properly enforced, and the resources needed to ensure the satisfactory enforcement of the environmental abatement and pollution control requirements in WEEE plants are overwhelming. In addition, the use of a "multiple enforcement body" approach to the control of hazardous substances in WEEE is an indication that the Chinese government lacks the determination to properly enforce the relevant legal requirements.     

Determination of antibiotics in sewage from hospitals, nursery and slaughter house, wastewater treatment plant and source water in Chongqing region of Three Gorge Reservoir in China

Sewage samples from 4 hospitals, 1 nursery, 1 slaughter house, 1 wastewater treatment plant and 5 source water samples of Chongqing region of Three Gorge Reservoir were analyzed for macrolide, lincosamide, trimethoprim, fluorouinolone, sulfonamide and tetracycline antibiotics by online solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Results showed that the concentration of ofloxacin (OFX) in hospital was the highest among all water environments ranged from 1.660 μg/L to 4.240 μg/L and norfloxacin (NOR, 0.136-1.620 μg/L), ciproflaxacin (CIP, ranged from 0.011 μg/L to 0.136 μg/L), trimethoprim (TMP, 0.061-0.174 μg/L) were commonly detected. Removal range of antibiotics in the wastewater treatment plant was 18-100% and the removal ratio of tylosin, oxytetracycline and tetracycline were 100%. Relatively higher removal efficiencies were observed for tylosin (TYL), oxytetracycline (OXY) and tetracycline (TET)(100%), while lower removal efficiencies were observed for Trimethoprim (TMP, 1%), Epi-iso-chlorotetracycline (EICIC, 18%) and Erythromycin-H₂O (ERY-H₂O, 24%). Antibiotics were removed more efficiently in primary treatment compared with those in secondary treatment.     

The Sustainable Development of ICTs in China： An Empirical Study of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

The wide application of new information and communication technologies （ICTs） has been argued to be critical to business success of small and medium-sized enterprises （SMEs）, especially to those in the developing countries. Drawing upon existing literature, this article will examine the determinants of ICTs application in SMEs in China based on data collected from interviews with top managers and/or owners of 70 SMEs. We identify 20 factors affecting ICTs application in SMEs in China and divide them into four broad categories, namely pressures, firm specific factors, technical factors and local milieu. We also pay special attention to the Chinese business environment affecting ICTs application. Our analysis shows that local ICT infrastructure, external pressures from competitors and ICT knowledge of employees are the determinants of Internet application by SMEs, while product characteristics and market target are important factors of e-commerce adoption.     

东北地区城市大气颗粒物中多环芳烃的污染特征

2008年4月至2009年1月期间,在东北三省(辽宁、吉林、黑龙江)设立30个观测点位,研究了东北城市大气颗粒物中PAHs的浓度水平、分布及来源.结果表明,不同季节14种PAHs总浓度的变化范围是16.3 ～712.1 ng/m3,呈冬季高、夏季低的季节变化特征；PAHs组成以4～5环化合物为主,3～4环化合物受温度的影响较大,表现出较强的季节波动；8个城市中抚顺和吉林PAHs污染最重,城市不同功能区中以工业区污染较重；燃煤和机动车尾气是区域PAHs的主要来源.