Based on 14,020 observations of Chinese A-share listed SMEs from 2007 to 2021, this study uses the difference-in-differences (DID) model to investigate the impact of cross-border e-commerce on enterprises’ international competitiveness. The results show that the comprehensive pilot zone of cross-border e-commerce significantly promotes SMEs’ overseas business income of SMEs, indicating that cross-border e-commerce is a powerful tool for improving corporate international competitiveness. In addition, the total factor productivity (TFP) of SMEs has been significantly improved in the process of expanding overseas markets. The triple DID model shows that the pilot policies of cross-border e-commerce significantly promoted the TFP of international enterprises, which means that cross-border e-commerce is conducive to improving international competitiveness. This study also verifies the market information mechanism of cross-border e-commerce, which enables SMEs to improve their international competitiveness. Developing and emerging countries should accelerate the institutional reform of digital trade to facilitate SME internationalization.

As critical strategic mineral resources underpinning high-tech industries and national defense security, rare earth elements have become a central focus of international competition, with their global industrial chain configuration deeply intertwined with geopolitical dynamics. Leveraging a novel multilateral database encompassing 140 countries’ geopolitical relationships and rare earth trade flows (2001–2023), this study employs social network analysis and temporal exponential random graph models (TERGMs) to decode structural interdependencies across upstream mineral concentrates, midstream smelting, and downstream permanent magnet sectors. Empirical results show that topological density trajectories reveal intensified network coupling, with upstream/downstream sectors demonstrating strong clustering. Geopolitical cooperation and conflict exert differential impacts along the value chain: downstream trade exhibits heightened sensitivity to cooperative effects, whereas midstream trade suffers the most pronounced obstruction from conflicts. Cooperation fosters long-term trade relationships, whereas conflicts primarily impose short-term suppression. In addition, centrality metrics reveal asymmetric mechanisms. Each unit increase in cooperation degree centrality amplifies the mid/downstream trade by 3.29 times, whereas conflict centrality depresses the midstream trade by 4.76%. The eigenvector centrality of cooperation hub nations enhances the midstream trade probability by 5.37-fold per unit gain, in contrast with the 25.09% midstream trade erosion from conflict-prone nations’ centrality increments. These insights provide implications for mitigating geopolitical risks and achieving sustainable governance in key mineral resource supply chains.

Studying the implementation benefits of low-carbon city pilot policies in fostering green, high-quality development is critical for China’s carbon peaking and neutrality targets. This research examines the effect of urban low-carbon governance on green, high-quality development using a multi-temporal DID model and panel data from 281 prefecture-level cities in China from 2007 to 2020. The findings are as follows: (1) low-carbon city pilot policy can considerably enhance green high-quality development in pilot cities; (2) mechanism tests reveal that fintech and urban innovation moderate the role of power support and wisdom empowerment in the successful promotion of low-carbon cities to achieve green high-quality development in pilot areas; (3) the policy effect becomes more significant as fintech and urban innovation cross the threshold value; (4) heterogeneity analysis shows that low-carbon city pilot policy is more conducive to green high-quality development in eastern regions, financially developed cities, and non-resource-based cities. The conclusions drawn from this paper offer valuable guidance for China’s adoption of appropriate environmental policy designs aimed at attaining high-quality green development.

Renewable energy development is a long-term means of addressing the climate challenge and achieving environmental sustainability. This study examines the relationship between environmental decentralization, local government competition, and renewable energy production using panel data from 30 Chinese provinces from 2000 to 2021. The empirical results show that environmental decentralization significantly inhibits renewable energy development, indicating a lack of foresight among local governments in environmental governance issues. In addition, local government competition amplifies the detrimental effects of environmental decentralization on renewable energy production. Although the decentralization of environmental administrative power hinders renewable energy production, the decentralization of environmental monitoring power promotes it. However, insufficient evidence is available to conclude that regional characteristics and threshold variables can alter the inhibitory effect of environmental decentralization on renewable energy production, even though the effects of environmental decentralization on the production of renewable energy exhibit geographical variation and non-linear characteristics. The findings of this study contribute to optimizing environmental policies to motivate local governments to pursue long-term environmental governance goals.