Transport infrastructure and logistics are gradually becoming important factors affecting global trade. At the same time, with the international logistics corridor along the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) going deep into construction, China is emerging as a unique case to study how logistics affects international trade. Therefore, based on the evaluation index system of logistics development level of China’s provinces by using the entropy method, this paper systematically analyzed the impact of logistics development level on bilateral trade from 31 China’s provinces to 65 countries along the BRI by using the improved gravity model with data for the period 2008–2018. Empirical results show: (1) Logistics development level had significantly promoted international trade development. (2) Compared with partner countries, China’s provincial logistics development level presented a greater impact on bilateral trade. (3) Influence of logistics development level was manifested in different periods, different international and regions, especially, logistics development level coefficient of the western region was negative, while that in eastern region was positive. In view of the above research results, we argue that strengthening domestic and international logistics construction is not only conductive to the sustainable development of China’s future trade, but also help to realize the coordinated development between China’s eastern, central and western regions.

Poverty reduction is an important driving force for the global realization of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and the building of a global community with a shared future for mankind. This paper takes the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as a quasi‐natural experiment. Based on the panel data of 134 countries in the world from 2000 to 2018, this paper uses the difference‐in‐difference (DID) model to examine the impact of the BRI on poverty reduction in countries along the route and to study its internal mechanism from the dual perspectives of trade openness and investment openness. The results show that (1) the BRI can significantly reduce the incidence of poverty with the impact coefficient stable at −0.26, and the empirical conclusion has passed the parallel test, placebo test, and instrumental variable test; (2) the mediating effect test model shows that the BRI can achieve poverty reduction through the dual openness of trade and investment, and the intermediary effect of trade openness is greater than investment openness; and (3) from the perspective of heterogeneity analysis, geographically, the BRI has a slightly higher role in promoting poverty reduction in landlocked countries than in coastal countries. In terms of economic location, the effect of poverty reduction has a certain “pro‐poverty” characteristic, that is, the BRI promotes poverty reduction in low‐ and middle‐income countries far more than other types of income countries. Therefore, we believe that the continuous deepening of the BRI high‐quality construction and the strengthening of cooperation among countries along the route will play a key role in promoting the international cycle of trade, investment, and other factors, as well as the cause of poverty reduction in the region and the world.

Openness is the core concept of the Belt and Road initiative (BRI), which plays a significant role in promoting the sustainable economic development of countries along the BRI. This study uses the entropy method to measure openness based on six dimensions: trade, investment, finance, tourism, technology, and information. Simultaneously, a super-SBM model with undesired output is proposed to measure green economy efficiency (GEE). Using the panel data of 66 countries along the BRI from 2008 to 2019, we empirically examine the impact of openness on GEE. The results are as follows: (1) The openness level of countries along the BRI is generally increasing, but the relative differences between countries tend to widen. (2) Openness has a significant U-shaped nonlinear effect on GEE, and the conclusion is still valid after considering the robustness test; (3) The spatial econometric model shows that openness not only affects the GEE of the local country, but also has a spillover effect on neighboring countries. Therefore, we believe that BRI countries should strengthen policy communication, break down border barriers, actively promote the orderly flow and diffusion of openness elements, and pay attention to the quantity and quality of openness development, which is key to the high-quality construction of the BRI.

The impact of logistics development on the economy covers many aspects, such as production, cost, employment, international trade, etc. It is an indispensable part of the modern economy, which helps to improve overall economic efficiency and social prosperity. This study studies the spatiotemporal dynamic evolution characteristics of China’s logistics development from 2008 to 2018 and explores its impact on economic growth in multiple dimensions of time and space. The research findings indicate the following: (1) From 2008 to 2018, China’s logistics development level (LDL) exhibited a clear upward trend. The differences between the eastern, central, and western regions showed fluctuating downward patterns, ultimately converging towards a high-level concentration. Concerning spatial distribution, China’s logistics development demonstrated a trend towards the west and south. However, the spatial pattern of "strong in the east and weak in the west " has existed for a long time. Moreover, the "T-shaped" pattern between coastal provinces and those along the Yangtze River Basin deepened, and the LDL in the central and western regions significantly improved. (2) The advancement of China’s LDL effectively promotes its economic growth, confirming that the Belt and Road Initiative enhances the role of logistics development in driving economic growth. Regarding regional differences, logistics development positively influences economic growth in the eastern and western regions, with a less significant impact on the central region. Regarding the strength of influence, logistics development has a more substantial effect on promoting high-ranking provinces in the entire country, the eastern region, and the central region, as well as boosting economic growth in low-ranking provinces in the western region.

Strengthening agricultural carbon emissions (ACE) reduction is an inherent requirement to promote the integrated development of ecological greenery in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), and it has a significant driving effect and benchmarking significance for China to achieve carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. Based on panel data of 41 cities in the YRD from 2001 to 2019, this study reveals the spatial and temporal evolution pattern of ACE and identifies the influencing factors through methods such as CV, SDE, ESDA and SDM. The results are summarized as follows: (1) the ACE in the YRD show a fluctuating downward trend, and the gap between cities tends to widen; (2) the YRD shows emission characteristics dominated by agricultural material input, with a proportion of over 50% over the years, followed by rice cultivation and livestock breeding with the lowest proportion. In addition, Jiangsu and Anhui have higher proportions, followed by Zhejiang, and Shanghai; (3) these cities with high ACE are mainly located in the northwest regions of the YRD, and those with low ACE are mainly located in the southeast regions of the YRD. Furthermore, cities in the YRD have a positive global spatial autocorrelation, and the local spatial agglomeration pattern has strong characteristics of stability and spatial dependence; (4) the agricultural economic development level has an inverted U-shaped effect on ACE in the YRD. Meanwhile, the total rural population, total power of agricultural machinery, and urbanization level have a significant positive impact, while the agricultural planting structure and trade openness level are not significantly affected, but the rural non-farm employment level have a significantly negative impact on ACE. SDM further supports the influence of various factors, and it can be found that the agricultural economic development level and trade openness level exhibit significant negative spillover effects.