Agricultural production faces the dual challenge of increasing output while ensuring efficient resource utilization and environmental sustainability amid escalating global climate change and relentless increases in human demand. This study used provincial panel data from China from 2001 to 2022 to address these challenges. It systematically evaluated the dynamic evolution of agricultural green total factor productivity (AGTFP) by selecting “resources” and “energy” as core input factors and adopting a dual-output approach focused on “economic” and “low-carbon” outcomes. This study thoroughly analyzed the synergistic mechanisms of factors such as natural endowment, agricultural technology, economic development, and environmental regulation, exploring their impact on AGTFP enhancement through the innovative application of the dynamic fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) method. There was a significant upward trend in AGTFP across China, indicating notable progress in green agricultural development. Additionally, three pathways promoting AGTFP improvement were identified: resource–economy-driven, technology–policy-guided, and multifactor-synergy. Simultaneously, two modes constraining AGTFP enhancement were uncovered: economy–policy suppression and human capital–economy suppression, highlighting the pivotal role of regional economic development and the conditionality of converting natural resource advantages. Moreover, the contributions of these pathways to AGTFP exhibited notable temporal dynamics. Major economic events, such as the 2008 financial crisis and policy shifts, including the 2012 “Ecological Civilization” strategy, significantly altered the effectiveness of existing configurations. Our analysis of regional heterogeneity revealed distinct geographical patterns, with the resource–economy-driven model predominantly observed in central regions and the technology–policy-guided and multi-factor-synergy models more prevalent in central and eastern regions. These findings highlight the importance of formulating differentiated policies tailored to the specific needs and stages of development in different regions. Specifically, enhancing the synergy between resource management and economic development, optimizing technology–policy integration, and promoting coordinated multisectoral development are critical to fostering sustainable agricultural practices. This research provides crucial empirical evidence for shaping targeted policies that can drive green agricultural development across diverse regional contexts.

Cultivated land (CL) performs irreplaceable manifold functions in social stability, economic development, and ecological security, which is also essential for the accomplishment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 Agenda. China is the world’s most populous country, and it has important reference significance for the realization of the multi-function synergistic management of CL in China by revealing the evolution characteristics of cultivated land functions (CLFs) and the interaction between CLFs. However, the research to date has tended to focus on the eastern coastal areas and the central traditional agricultural areas of China. This study focuses specifically on Xinjiang, the main area of the arid region of northwest China. The connotations of social, economic, and ecological functions of oasis cultivated land (OCL) in Xinjiang were first discussed from a system theory perspective. Then, an evaluation index system of CLFs was constructed. On this basis, the evolution characteristics of CLFs and the interaction between CLFs in Xinjiang from 1990 to 2018 were quantitatively evaluated. Findings suggest that: (1) the economic function of the OCL in Xinjiang is strengthening, while the ecological function is degrading and the social function remains stable. Overall, the evolution of CLFs in Xinjiang was first dominated by ecological and social functions and then became economic-function-oriented; (2) the synergistic relationship between CLFs is weakening and the trade-off relationship is increasing over time. The trade-off effect between the economic function and other functions of OCL is strengthened gradually due to the OCL-use activities dominated by the economic function. This study not only enriches the regional content of CL multi-function research but can also provide reference for decision-making for the sustainable utilization and multi-function synergistic management of OCL in Xinjiang, China.

Recognizing regional economic resilience and its influencing factors under different shocks is necessary to promote stable regional economic development. The article analyzes the regional economic resilience of 31 Chinese provinces under three kinds of shocks, namely, financial crisis, economic downturn, and COVID-19, in terms of the resistance of regional economies to shocks, and examines spatial distribution and main influencing factors. The results of the study found that: (1) The characteristics of regional economic resilience under different shocks are different. During the financial crisis, the strong resilient provinces are distributed in the central and western and northern regions; during the economic downturn, the strong resilient provinces are mainly distributed in the western and central regions; during COVID-19, the strong resilient provinces are mainly distributed in the western and eastern coastal regions. The economic resilience of each province shows significant “high-high” and “low-low” spatial clustering characteristics during the economic downturn and the COVID-19. (2) The main influencing factors of economic resilience in different shocks are different. In the financial crisis, the magnitude of the contribution of the influencing factor is leading industry (0.283) > related diversity (0.197) > foreign trade dependence (0.190); during the economic downturn, the magnitude of the contribution of the influencing factor is population density (0.464) > leading industry (0.427) > related diversity (0.285); the magnitude of the contribution of the impact factor during the COVID-19 was related diversity (0.282) > unrelated diversity (0.274) > leading industry (0.272). (3) In the interaction of impact factors, the strongest explanatory power is found in related diversity, unrelated diversity, and leading industries, which represent the industrial structure. Therefore, there is a need to adjust the industrial structure and improve the regional economic resilience from the shock itself.

Targeted poverty alleviation is a major national initiative in China. The Hotan region, located within the four prefectures of Southern Xinjiang, is one of the 14 contiguous poverty-stricken areas in China as well as a quintessential inland arid zone. Water scarcity is the primary constraint on development in the Hotan region and a major bottleneck for Northwest China as a whole. However, previous assessments of the effectiveness of poverty alleviation measures have primarily focused on industrial growth itself, lacking an analysis of the adaptability between key regional resource elements and industrial poverty alleviation measures. The core of promoting targeted poverty alleviation in arid regions is properly managing the relationships within the “industry–water resources” system and achieving a balance between resource use, environmental capacity, and economic development. Focusing on the coordinated development of industry and water resources, this study evaluates the spatio-temporal evolution of the industry–water resource relationships in the Hotan region after the implementation of the targeted poverty alleviation policy with the aim of measuring the sustainability of industrial poverty alleviation outcomes in this arid region. The results indicate the following: (1) The targeted poverty alleviation policy has reduced industrial water consumption. Following the policy’s implementation, industrial water consumption decreased by 541 million m³, driven by improvements in water use intensity and shifts in the industrial structure. The primary contributor to this reduction was enhanced water use efficiency within the primary sector. (2) The policy exacerbated the misallocation of water resources relative to industrial output across the region. The Gini coefficient for water resources versus GDP across Hotan’s eight counties and cities rose from 0.26 to 0.32, indicating a shift from a ‘relatively balanced’ to a ‘moderately imbalanced’ allocation. Therefore, achieving sustainable poverty alleviation in this arid region necessitates enhanced coordination between industrial development and water resources.