In the late Neolithic period in northwestern China, pottery was used in a variety of contexts, including in mortuary rituals. While some scholars have interpreted pots placed in graves as being produced solely for use as funerary items, up until now there have only been typological analyses of these vessels. This has resulted in interpretations of grave goods, particularly elaborately painted vases, as representing wealth, ritual power, or the ability to reward followers. This study analyzes use-alteration and manufacturing marks on vessels from two Majiayao 马家窑 (3200–2000 b.c.) and Qijia 齐家 (2300–1500 b.c.) period cemeteries and suggests that most items were actually daily-use goods which were later used as mortuary offerings. The diverse patterns of manufacturing marks and use-alteration also demonstrate that these vessels likely come from a variety of producers and had highly variable use-lives. These results suggest that during the Majiayao period mortuary rituals were potentially attended by individuals from multiple communities, who may have provided pottery and its contents partly to build relationships between groups; the situation is less clear for the Qijia period. This work demonstrates the importance of investigating use-alteration patterns and manufacturing marks alongside typology, decoration, and context.

In line with previous studies of the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) and global value chains (GVCs), this work uses national panel data of 31 countries along the Belt and Road (B&R countries) from 2010 to 2017 to study the impact of Chinese outside foreign direct investment (OFDI) on the GVC positions of B&R countries and examines the threshold effects of infrastructure level and institutional quality on that impact. The results show that the improvement of B&R countries’ GVC positions is related to Chinese OFDI, and Chinese OFDI has significantly positive dynamic effect on improving the GVC positions of B&R countries. Infrastructure level and institutional quality have double threshold effects upon the effect of Chinese OFDI on improving the GVC positions of B&R countries. When infrastructure level successively exceeds the two thresholds, the effect of Chinese OFDI on improving the GVC positions of B&R countries gradually increases, and when institutional quality successively exceeds the two thresholds, the effect of Chinese OFDI on improving the GVC positions of B&R countries gradually decreases. Our study proposes that under the Belt and Road Initiative, to improve the GVC positions of B&R countries, B&R countries should further strengthen their cooperation with China and continue to attract Chinese OFDI. Moreover, to better play the role of Chinese OFDI in enhancing the GVC positions of B&R countries, China should further strengthen the infrastructure connectivity construction with B&R countries and pay attention to the institutional quality of B&R countries when investing in them.

Based on a comprehensive review of previous studies about the threshold effects of financial development on the process of foreign direct investment (FDI) spillovers, the present work roundly measures the financial development from the aspects of scale, structure, and efficiency and applies a multiple threshold regression model to estimate the threshold effects of financial development on FDI spillovers, and then examines the inherent relationship between FDI spillovers effects and the financial development from the three aspects, respectively, in different regions of China, based on regional panel data from 2000 to 2014. The results revealed that there are two thresholds of financial development scale, structure and efficiency, existing in the FDI spillover processes in different regions. The FDI spillovers effects are greatest in the eastern region and are generally smallest in the western region. There is a negative correlation between FDI spillovers effects and the financial development scale or efficiency in eastern and central region. Moreover, there is positive correlation between FDI spillovers effects and the financial development structure in eastern and central region. Additionally, there is a positive correlation between FDI spillovers effects and the financial development scale, structure, or efficiency in western region. The capital, labor, and regional technology progress have positive effects on economic growth in different regions and the effects of financial development on economic growth are not unanimous in each region. Based on the empirical results, some policies on how to develop regional finances and how to introduce FDI to promote economic growth are recommended.