Suchergebnisse

Is China using the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to advance its economic development or to fulfill broader geopolitical objectives? While the BRI is often touted as a primarily economic venture aimed at addressing domestic overcapacity, this paper posits that political objectives are equally important. Drawing on selectorate theory, I assess whether China uses this initiative for political purposes. If so, it would be more likely to partner with authoritarian countries it sees as more amenable to political influence. Using logistic and Cox models to analyze data from 2013 to 2020, I find that political considerations are as relevant as economic ones. This research contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the BRI within global political and economic contexts and explains China's international strategy.

Abstract
Improving the performance and resilience of the transportation system in cities is an important way to combat climate change. However, the relationship between weather conditions and traffic congestion remains unclear. This study investigates the association between weather conditions and traffic congestion [congestion delay index (CDI)] using a dataset encompassing 98 cities in China from 2015 to 2019. The results reveal that temperature exerts a significant negative effect on CDI, particularly during weekends. Conversely, rain, wind speed, and relative humidity exhibit significant positive effects on CDI. Specifically, traffic congestion would decrease by 6% when the temperature exceeds 25°C, while it increases by 2%–5.6% with rainfall increases on workdays. Besides, the precipitation–CDI relationship shows an inverse U shape, especially on weekends. Although subways could mitigate the impact of temperature on cities compared to those without subways, the supplementary effect is mild on rainy days.

Significance Statement
The increasing frequency of extreme weather events poses great threats to cities' transport systems, and understanding the association between weather conditions and traffic congestion is insightful for future transport planning. The results show that traffic congestion would decrease by 6% when the temperature exceeds 25°C, while it increases by 2%–5.6% with rainfall increases on workdays and the association becomes nonlinear on weekends. Besides, cities equipped with subway systems demonstrate greater resilience to hot weather conditions, although rainfall's impact remains challenging to mitigate.