Four-dimensional evaluation and forecasting of marine carrying capacity in China: Empirical analysis based on the entropy method and grey Verhulst model.

This study separates marine carrying capacity into four key dimensions, i.e., social, economic, resource, and ecological, and uses the entropy method to evaluate the carrying capacity of China's 11 coastal regions during the period 2007-2016. We then predict the values of marine carrying capacity in the subsequent five years (2017-2021) using the grey Verhulst model. Results reveal a significant disparity in marine carrying capacity among the 11 coastal regions of China, and social and ecological carrying capacities illustrate among the four subcategories. Pearl River Delta in the south has the highest marine carrying capacity value and shows an increasing trend, while Yangtze River Delta and Bohai Rim Region in the north are stable. With regard to the predicted values for 2017-2021, forecasting results illustrate that the industrial structure of China's coastal areas is gradually turning towards the mode of diversified and comprehensive utilization of marine resources.

Effects of host country resource endowment and labor cost on China's investment in overseas cultivated land.

Although numerous linear regressions have been conducted to identify driving forces of farmland investment, this study uses panel threshold techniques to explore the nonlinear effects of resource endowment, labor cost, and other potential influencing factors on China's investment in farmland in 40 foreign countries during the period 2008-2016. Results show that increased resource endowment promotes China's investment in overseas farmland, but the correlation gradually weakens in magnitude as levels increase. A lower labor cost attracts greater Chinese investment in farmland, but the degree of influence declines with the continued increase in labor cost. Further, host country corruption, infrastructure level, and urbanization ratio have significant negative impacts on investment, whereas an increase in China's overall economic power significantly increases overseas farmland investment. Policy implications are proposed with respect to implementing environmental responsibility in host countries, creating comprehensive risk assessments, and optimizing the structure of overseas investment portfolios.