Based on the literature on the factors influencing port competitiveness, this paper evaluates the competitiveness of Chinese ports along the Belt and Road based on Porter’s diamond model. The evaluation system includes four primary indicators, including port infrastructure, port operation scale, port hinterland economic level and port development potential, and 13 secondary indicators. Then, based on the entropy-TOPSIS method, an evaluation model of port competitiveness is constructed. Finally, 15 seaports along China’s “Belt and Road” are used to evaluate competitiveness, and a comprehensive ranking of port competitiveness is obtained. The advantages and shortcomings of each port are pointed out according to the evaluation results to provide a reference for the long-term development of the competitiveness of ports along the “Belt and Road” in China.

Focusing on the rapid rise of China’s housing prices in recent years, in this paper, we construct a model using the cheap talk game that centers on how information receivers in a market make inferences about the true state of the information based on the cost-free signals they receive and then make decisions based on these inferences, which in turn affect market equilibrium. By constructing a cheap talk game model of house prices, we examine the correlation between market expectations, economic fundamentals, and individual housing purchase decisions. Then, we conduct an empirical analysis using the dynamic GMM method based on the panel data of 35 large and medium-sized cities in China. The analysis reveals that: (1) when the whole of society expects housing prices to rise, housing prices will rise regardless of the true state of economic fundamentals; (2) when information on economic fundamentals is accurate and reliable, home buyers tend to make purchase decisions based on such information, thus maximizing the utility of society as a whole; but when information on economic fundamentals is unreliable, home buyers tend to make purchase decisions according to their own housing price expectations, which is not conducive to the optimization of the utility of society as a whole; (3) the empirical results also reveal that expectations are a non-negligible factor in the rise of housing prices, and the coefficient of expectations exceeds that of each economic fundamental; this demonstrates the investment-driven attribute of the housing market in China. At the same time, economic fundamentals have a definite effect on housing prices, which implies that the rise of housing prices in China is supported by objective conditions.

As urbanization proceeds, urban transportation resilience suffers greater challenges. Covering panel data for 35 Chinese cities from 2006 to 2019, after controlling for other variables that may affect urban residents' transportation volumes, this paper finds that rising houseing prices have a significant positive effect on urban residents' traffic frequency. As frequent traffic trips increase the probability of urban residents experiencing disruptions, rising housing purchase prices would have a negative impact on Chinese urban residents’ transportation resilience. The regional comparison analysis finds that the regression coefficients of coastal and eastern cities with more expensive housing price are significantly higher than those of non-coastal and western cities with lower housing price, further validating the findings of this paper.

Based on a transnational dual-channel supply chain consisting of the domestic manufacturer and retailer, this paper constructs four models, namely, the without tariff model, the tariff model, the retailer’s strategic inputs model, and the manufacturer’s compensation model, to investigate the impact of the tariff imposing on supply chain decisions, the effect of the retailer’s strategic inputs to hedge against tariffs, and the incentive effect of the manufacturer’s compensation. The results show that the tariff imposed by the foreign government leads to higher product prices and lower sales volumes, resulting in welfare losses for foreign consumers. When the domestic retailer makes strategic inputs, the prices of products in the foreign market decrease and the sales volumes increase, which increases the profits of the domestic retailer and manufacturer and improves the welfare of foreign consumers. The equilibrium solutions of the models also show that the manufacturer has an incentive to compensate the retailer for its strategic inputs; when the manufacturer compensates for the retailer’s strategic inputs, the profit of the retailer and the manufacturer will be improved again, and thus, the whole supply chain will achieve Pareto improvement.

Based on the literature on the factors influencing port competitiveness, this paper evaluates the competitiveness of Chinese ports along the Belt and Road based on Porter's diamond model. The evaluation system includes four primary indicators, including port infrastructure, port operation scale, port hinterland economic level and port development potential, and thirteen secondary indicators. Then, based on the entropy-TOPSIS method, an evaluation model of port competitiveness is constructed. Finally, 15 seaports along China's "Belt and Road" are used to evaluate competitiveness, and a comprehensive ranking of port competitiveness is obtained. The advantages and shortcomings of each port are pointed out according to the evaluation results to provide a reference for the long-term development of the competitiveness of ports along the "Belt and Road" in China.