This article investigates the effects of China’s outward direct investment (ODI) on the institutional quality of the Belt and Road (B&R) countries. Based on a panel data set of 63 B&R countries during the period 2003 to 2016, we find that China’s ODI improves the institutional quality of B&R countries not only in the short run but also in the long run. Further, although China’s ODI exerts no differential impacts on host country institutional dimensions of “control of corruption,” “government effectiveness,” and “political stability” in countries with different natural resource endowments, it improves their institutional dimensions of “regulatory quality” and “rule of law,” implying that China’s ODI may help the host B&R countries minimize the “resource curse”. As one of the most important strategies for China’s opening-up development in the current era, the B&R initiative serves as means to promote sustainable development of B&R countries. The article therefore contributes to existing scholarship on the institutional effects of China’s ODI and sheds light on the mechanisms that drive sustainable development.

Using DCC-GARCH model, this paper finds that, since 1990, the relationship between crude oil prices and the US dollar index is time-varying, demonstrating a process of ‘very weak correlation—negative correlation—enhanced negative correlation—weakening negative correlation’, but the existing research does not provide enough reasonable explanation. Therefore, this paper proposed a ‘key mediating factors’ hypothesis which points out that whether there is a common ‘key mediating factor’ is important source of the time-varying relationship between two assets. We argue that market trend and financial market sentiment undertook the role of ‘key mediating factor’ during the period of the 2002 to the financial crisis and financial crisis to 2013, while other periods lack the ‘key mediating factors’.

In order to study the influencing factors of cultural and creative industries (CCIs), the Grey Factor Analysis and 30 different indexes are used to empirically analyze the correlation between the influencing factors and the added value of CCIs in Shanghai. At the same time, main environmental factors affecting the development of CCIs are explored. The result shows that technology research and development, policy and government financial support, human resources, social culture, cultural consumption environment, cultural industry basis and development status are important impacting factors on the development of CCIs in Shanghai. Based on the above research results, this paper puts forward some countermeasures and suggestions on the construction of a comprehensive environment to promote the sustainable and healthy development of CCIs.