Mixed results from studies on Chinese cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) have been a puzzle for both academia and business professionals over the years. Do these M&As create value when Chinese firms acquire foreign target firms suffering heavy losses and even on the verge of bankruptcy? This article explores the wealth effect of M&As conducted by Chinese firms as well as the relevant factors from the asset-seeking perspective. The authors use 180 M&A cases conducted by listed firms in China between 2002 and 2012 as samples and examine their wealth effects in a method of event study. The results show that these M&A activities have produced significant positive wealth effects during the event window of [–10, 10]. The authors then study the key factors affecting wealth effects. The findings reveal that an acquiring firm’s strength via research and development (R&D) and M&A experience generates significant positive impacts on the wealth effect. The findings also reveal that an innovation orientation and development stage of host countries helps create positive wealth effects; vertical M&As are particularly favored by the market since they can gain easier access to R&D, marketing channels or mineral resources.

This paper, firstly, empirically examines the relationship between Chinese companies’ cross-border mergers and acquisitions and the acquirers’ innovation performance. Secondly, it investigates the moderate effects of industrial policy and intellectual property protection on the relationship between cross-border M&A and the acquirers’ innovation performance. At the same time, based on the perspective of corporate heterogeneity, the effect of state-owned equity on the above-mentioned moderate relationship was analyzed. The conclusions are as follows: First, Chinese companies’ cross-border acquisitions have significantly improved the acquirers’ innovation performance. Second, industrial policies negatively affect the relationship between cross-border mergers and acquisitions and the acquirers’ innovation performance. Third, the moderating role of intellectual property protection is not stable. Fourth, state-owned equity negatively affects the relationship between cross-border M&A and the acquirers’ innovation performance; the third-order interaction of state-owned equity on intellectual property protection, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, and the acquirers’ innovation performance shows that the special relationship between state-owned enterprises and the government not only failed to help them make better use of intellectual property protection for technological innovation, it also adversely hindered the realization of its innovative performance.

Rapid urbanization in China has overwhelmed traditional drainage systems, resulting in frequent flooding and water pollution in densely populated urban areas. This study focuses on the East Lake core area of Wuhan, proposing a deep tunnel drainage system to improve sewage storage and conveyance capacity. A pilot-scale pipe model was employed to determine the critical non-silting velocity for full-pipe sewage flow. Based on projected dry-season inflows and intercepted combined sewer discharges, the design capacities for pumping stations and pretreatment facilities were defined. A three-dimensional gas–liquid two-phase numerical model was used to simulate inflow shaft hydraulics at Erlangmiao, Luobuzui, and Wudong pretreatment stations. Simulation results confirm that all shafts meet energy dissipation and ventilation requirements, with uniform flow and velocity distributions that could be obtained by a vortex-type shaft. The system not only mitigates regional environmental challenges but also shows significant social, environmental, and economic benefits. Overall project design, applied methodology, simulation study, and outcomes could provide a valuable reference to deep tunnel drainage design and research.

Fire safety in high-rise talent apartments, which is vital for safeguarding strategic human resources, was investigated to enhance evacuation resilience. A coupled fire-evacuation model was established using PyroSim and Pathfinder. This study analyzed multi-factor management strategies, including occupant vertical distribution, evacuation speed, evacuation priority settings, panic psychology, and guide intervention. Additionally, an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model was developed using simulation data obtained under non-panic conditions to predict evacuation time and explore intelligent algorithms. Results show that the evacuation stairwells are the primary bottlenecks. Panic psychology significantly reduces evacuation efficiency, with severe panic increasing total evacuation time by up to 71.1%. The combined strategy CS4, integrating Pyramidal Vertical Distribution (VD7) and Organized Segmented Speed Control (ES6), reduced evacuation time by 17.42%. Guide intervention effectively mitigates the negative impact of panic. The ANN model achieved a coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.8695, confirming its predictive capability. Visibility was identified as the key parameter determining the Available Safe Egress Time (ASET). This study demonstrates that an integrated “hard–soft combination” strategy, complemented by intelligent modeling, offers an effective approach to building a resilient evacuation system for high-rise talent apartments.

The digital transformation of “Specialized, Refined, Distinctive, and Innovative” (SRDI) firms is a vital indicator of high-quality development within the digital economy and has attracted considerable attention. This study empirically examines the effect of digital transformation on enterprise value, employing big data text recognition techniques on panel data from Chinese A-share-listed SRDI firms from 2009 to 2023 to measure the intensity of corporate digital transformation. The empirical results reveal a significantly positive correlation between digital transformation and firm value for SRDI firms, a conclusion that remains robust after endogeneity and sensitivity analyses. Mechanism tests further indicate that digital transformation is significantly and positively associated with four dimensions of technological innovation, all of which are closely linked to firm value: innovation input, innovation density, innovation capability, and innovation performance. Additionally, we recognize supply chain concentration, the extent of informatization, and government subsidies as critical moderators that enhance the association between digital transformation and firm value. This study offers detailed empirical evidence about the transformation and innovation behaviors of SRDI firms, clarifying the underlying mechanisms and contingent elements that influence value creation in the digital age.

This study employs panel data for 275 Chinese cities from 2011 to 2021. Water use efficiency is measured as an aggregate city-level indicator via stochastic frontier analysis, while the level of digital economy development is quantified using principal component analysis. We then employ the system generalized method of moments to investigate the causal relationship between the digital economy and urban water use efficiency, and further identify industrial structure upgrading as the mediating role through which the digital economy affects water efficiency. The main findings are as follows: (1) The digital economy has a significant positive impact on urban water use efficiency. (2) Regional heterogeneity analysis shows that the digital economy presents a stronger positive effect on water use efficiency in eastern regions than in central and western regions. (3) Exploratory mechanism analysis indicates that industrial structure upgrading serves as the mediating role through which the digital economy improves urban water use efficiency. Based on the empirical findings, this paper draws targeted policy implications.