Based on Thomas Piketty’s ‘r>g’ hypothesis, this study analyzes the structural impact of the expanding capital-income ratio on income polarization and examines whether the gender balance in human capital functions as a moderating mechanism to alleviate this trend. The empirical results confirm that, within the East Asian context, a rising capital-income ratio is a significant factor that exacerbates the income gap between the top 10% and the bottom 50%. However, this pressure toward deepening inequality is statistically and significantly mitigated as the gender education gap narrows. Specifically, gender equality in education was found to serve as a social safety net that sustains the income share of the bottom 50% by diversifying their income sources and enhancing economic resilience, rather than by directly suppressing the wealth accumulation of the top tier. Furthermore, robustness checks using the Gender Development Index (GDI) yielded consistent results, showing that improvements in gender equality offset the negative effects of capital concentration. By integrating a micro-perspective of gendered human capital into Piketty’s macro-discourse, this research identifies a specific mechanism for preventing the entrenchment of inequality. The findings suggest that future distribution policies must go beyond ex-post redistribution and be integrated with structural measures aimed at enhancing educational equity.

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This research paper investigates the relationship between Mozi's thought and China's innovation strategy. Divided by the tenures of China's top leaders, the study presents key innovation keywords of each era and analyzes this connection through a chronological pattern matching method. This analysis focuses on Mozi's citations in major lectures by top leaders, the situation and challenges facing China at the time, and the innovation achievements and research aspects of innovation. The results are as follows: Mozi's thought is closely linked to modern China's national strategic direction, particularly its innovation strategy. The Chinese leadership, including top political leaders, recognized Mozi's thought as a crucial component of China's socialist ideological system. Amidst the Cold War, a systemic competition with Western capitalist nations, China, pursuing a path distinct from the Soviet Union, took great pride in the fact that its traditional philosophy embodied dialectical materialism. Consequently, Mozi's thought influenced the formation of Chinese-style socialism and socialism with Chinese characteristics. The content of the Mozi Classics, including the highest level of natural science and logic of the time, served as a model capable of moving beyond mere imitation to pursue independent innovation in the competition for productive capacity development and scientific and technological innovation against Western capitalist nations, led by the United States. Furthermore, Mozi’s philosophies of universal love and non-aggression were suitable and useful for the ideological propaganda of China, which aims for peaceful rise. In particular, the strong will and loyalty unique to Mozi and his disciples have recently been highly valued and are being regarded as exemplary models for the unity of the Chinese system. Given that China has set the overtaking of the Western capitalist system in productive capacity amidst the modern paradigm shift as a national goal— considering that surpassing it in the scientific and technological sphere, and specifically winning the system competition through superior human resources, is the most feasible strategy—Mozi thought has been continuously emphasized and functions as an ideology that sets the system's course and mobilizes its members. The dedicated and sincere images of Mozi and the Mohist group preserved in historical records can be utilized to promote the patriotism pursued by China.

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This study analyzes the mechanisms of recognition and non-recognition exercised by Chinese leaders toward Japanese prime ministers in Sino-Japanese relations. By integrating Axel Honneth’s theory of recognition with constructivist approaches, it argues that China’s recognition of Japan is determined by the interaction between an “identity variable”— constituted by Japanese leaders’ positions on historical issues and Taiwan—and an “interest variable” reflecting China’s strategic and economic considerations. In particular, the study conceptualizes the identity variable as a nonlinear factor with a threshold effect, proposing an “identity threshold” mechanism whereby, once exceeded, the influence of the interest variable is constrained. Through a comparative analysis of the 1972 Mao Zedong–Kakuei Tanaka period and the 2003–2006 Hu Jintao–Junichiro Koizumi period, the study finds that whether the identity variable crosses this threshold serves as the key determinant of recognition versus non-recognition. These findings suggest that historical memory and the Taiwan issue function as normative criteria in Sino-Japanese relations.

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The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) constitutes the core arena of elite politics in China. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, ethnic minority political elites have consistently accounted for approximately ten percent of its membership. This study analyzes 68 ethnic minority elites who were elected as full or alternate members of the CCP Central Committee from the 8th to the 12th Party Congresses. Employing a two-dimensional analytical framework that integrates career-based typologies with ethnic representativeness-based typologies, the study examines longitudinal changes in the composition and dominant patterns of ethnic minority political elites. The analysis is based on qualitative examinations of each elite’s educational background, field of study, career trajectory, place of origin, and administrative postings. Primary sources include The Biographical Dictionary of Past CCP Central Committee Members, the Eurasian Elite Library Chinese Elite Database, and Baidu Baike. During the 8th Central Committee, ethnic policy-oriented and mainstream integration types were balanced. From the 9th onward, however, ethnic policy-oriented cadres became dominant and remained so through the 12th, emerging as the primary type among ethnic minority elites. This persistence, despite socio-political changes, reflects the interaction between institutional arrangements and a governing logic that emphasizes political reliability among minority elites.

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Rare earth elements(REEs) are a group of 17 elements essential for applications such as permanent magnets and lasers. In the 20th century, they were regarded as critical materials for the defense industry, and in the 21st century, with the advancement of the IT industry, they have become indispensable for semiconductor manufacturing and strategic resources. As the country with the largest rare earth reserves, China has adjusted its industry and export policies over the past four decades in response to changes in domestic and global trade environments, emerging as the world’s largest producer. It has established the world’s only fully integrated rare earth industrial chain, though this has also resulted in environmental degradation and excessive energy consumption. In response, the State Council of China promulgated the “Rare Earth Management Regulations” in June 2024, marking a shift from industrial promotion to regulation and control. Based on an analysis of these Regulations, China’s current and future rare earth strategies can be summarized as follows. First, an oligopolistic structure centered on two major groups is expected to strengthen state control over industrial and supply chains. Second, support for industrial advancement and smartization will expand, with increased R&D driving a shift in exports from raw materials to magnets, materials, and high-tech components. Third, the development of high-purity recovery systems through urban mining will promote resource circulation. Fourth, controls over heavy rare earth mining and critical mineral exports will be further strengthened under the rationale of protecting strategic resources. Fifth, environmental regulations will become more stringent, with mandatory compliance and strengthened penalties.

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This study examines how ownership type and institutional origin shape differential compliance patterns in the process through which ESG norms—now central to global capital markets—are transplanted into China’s capital market. We focus specifically on firms listed on China’s A-share market that are controlled by capital from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan (hereafter HMT firms), which share cultural affinity with mainland China yet carry an institutional exteriority, as they developed outside the Party-state system. Drawing on neo-institutional theory of isomorphism, we hypothesize that HMT firms engage in ‘selective institutionalization’ rather than uniform compliance, exhibiting systematically differentiated responses across the three ESG sub-dimensions (E, S, and G). We test this framework using a panel dataset of Chinese A-share listed firms spanning 2013 to 2023, employing Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE). The empirical results yield three principal findings. First, HMT firms show no statistically significant difference from domestic private firms in environmental (E) performance, indicating that state-mandated coercive isomorphism enforces homogeneous regulatory compliance irrespective of ownership type. Second, HMT firms exhibit significantly lower social (S) performance relative to private firms, reflecting a structural deficit in the institutional resources necessary to respond to normative isomorphism that is deeply embedded in mainland-specific informal networks (guanxi) and local government—firm interactions. Third, HMT firms demonstrate a pronounced advantage in governance (G) performance, a result consistent with the path-dependent transfer of shareholder protection norms and board independence standards internalized under advanced common-law systems, which align closely with the trajectory of China’s ongoing governance reforms. This study contributes to the literature by systematically identifying the institutional duality of overseas Chinese capital—previously treated as a subcategory of foreign investment or reduced to a control variable—as an independent unit of analysis, and by demonstrating that distinct institutional logics and compliance patterns operate across ESG sub-dimensions beyond what aggregate ESG scores can reveal.

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This study presents a systematic and quantitative analysis of China’s engagement with the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) from its accession in 2001 to the present year of 2026. Having initiated 33 complaints, responded to 53 cases, and participated as a third party in 198 instances, China has established itself as one of the most active litigants, involved in approximately 13% of all WTO disputes. This paper categorizes China’s participation in the DSB into three distinct evolutionary stages: ① the Initial Exploratory Phase (2001–2006), ② the Defensive Respondent Phase (2007–2015), and ③ the Offensive Transitional Phase (2016–Present). Through a structural analysis by counterpart and agreement, coupled with an evaluation of compliance patterns, this study explores the strategic trajectory of China’s transformation from a ‘rule-taker’ to a ‘rule-maker.’ Furthermore, the paper examines the impact of shifting institutional dynamics—specifically the paralysis of the Appellate Body and the emergence of the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA)—on China’s DSB strategy. Finally, it discusses the broader implications of China’s utilization of the WTO as a formal legal manifestation of the intensifying U.S.-China trade conflict.

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This article examines why China’s 2025 Private Economy Promotion Law has been translated into different provincial regulations and policy instruments. To address this question, the article selects Fujian and Heilongjiang as contrasting cases: Fujian represents a coastal province with a strong legacy of private-sector-led development, whereas Heilongjiang represents a northeastern old industrial base with a stronger legacy of state-led industrial organization. Using five comparative dimensions—legislative pathway, policy orientation, administrative instruments, rights-protection mechanisms, and regional development narratives—the article analyzes how structural conditions and prior administrative trajectories shape local implementation. The findings show that Fujian has institutionalized a development-oriented model centered on growth support, service delivery, and innovation-tolerant governance, while Heilongjiang has institutionalized a management-oriented model centered on monitoring, procedural protection, and supervisory control. These differences suggest that the Private Economy Promotion Law should be understood not as a uniformly imposed implementation rule, but as a common legal framework that provincial governments selectively reconstruct in light of their own structural conditions and administrative legacies. The article argues that China’s governance of the private economy is better understood as a differentiated rule-of-law arrangement in which national principles and localized institutional redesign coexist.

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This study aims to analyze the impact of cultural heritage assetization on urban competitiveness and city branding within the context of China’s urban development strategies. By linking national cultural policies with city-level implementation, the research explores the structural mechanisms through which cultural heritage is transformed into economic, political, and symbolic capital. The study employs an integrated analytical framework combining Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital, Porter’s theory of competitive advantage, and Nye’s concept of soft power. Using literature review and policy analysis, it examines the multifaceted effects of cultural heritage on urban brand identity, cultural industry development, tourism promotion, and the enhancement of global city image. The research also highlights the significant role of digital cultural industries in expanding the global reach of cultural heritage and strengthening urban competitiveness. The findings reveal that the assetization of cultural heritage in Chinese cities enhances urban competitiveness through four key pathways: (1) policy-driven governance, (2) integration of cultural industries and tourism, (3) digital technology-based dissemination, and (4) linkage with soft power strategies. These results suggest that cultural heritage is not merely an object of preservation but a strategic asset driving sustainable urban development. This study contributes academically by proposing an integrated theoretical framework explaining the relationship between cultural heritage assetization and urban competitiveness, and it offers practical implications for city branding and cultural policy in China.

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At the historical juncture of "unprecedented global changes," enhancing the efficacy of China’s international communication and building an indigenous discourse system have emerged as urgent priorities in the social sciences. To address the cognitive fragmentation caused by the surge in publications, traditional qualitative reviews often fail to objectively evaluate the structural patterns of disciplinary evolution. This study analyzes 3,961 CSSCI-indexed journal articles from CNKI (2010–2025) using CiteSpace to conduct a multi-dimensional quantitative analysis of the field. The findings reveal that publication volume has progressed through four distinct stages—exploration, steady growth, adjustment, and rapid acceleration—reaching a historic peak in 2024. Academically, institutions such as the Communication University of China, Tsinghua University, and Beijing Foreign Studies University serve as key hubs, led by a community of prominent scholars, though cross-institutional collaboration requires further enhancement. Knowledge structure analysis indicates a configuration centered on two core nodes, namely "International Communication" and "Foreign Communication." By deconstructing core clusters, this study categorizes the research into four primary blocks: basic concepts, narrative strategies, policy responses, and ultimate goals. The research focus has undergone a paradigmatic leap from an early emphasis on infrastructure to deep autonomous theoretical construction, reflecting a collective effort to dismantle Western discourse hegemony and seek indigenous academic self-awareness. Regarding frontier evolution, keyword burst analysis reveals a logical shift from earlier hotspots like "soft power" and "national image" toward "Chinese civilization," "empathetic communication," and "global governance." This trajectory reflects a transition from defensive publicity toward proactive leadership in communication, shifting from simple information flow to deeper meaning construction. In light of current limitations in bridging macro-micro perspectives and profiling overseas audiences, future research should deepen theoretical originality, reconstruct communication systems through digital intelligence, and pivot toward empathetic communication. Practically, priority should be given to the international translation of core academic concepts and the use of AI to mitigate "cultural discounts." By establishing a collaborative framework involving both official and non-official actors, China can achieve a qualitative leap in global discourse, moving from simply being heard to being truly understood and accepted.

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