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The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of political relations on trade in strategic emerging industries (SEIs) in the Belt and Road initiative (BRI) associated countries. This investigation encompasses not only from the perspective of bilateral political relations but also the political intervention of third parties.

The study employs the temporal exponential random graphmodel to analyze the dynamic structure and influencing factor of SEIs trade network among 150 BRI-associated countries from 2015 to 2020.

The results indicate that the trade of SEIs in the BRI-associated countries exhibits a pattern of concentrated exporters and decentralized importers. Amicable bilateral political relations foster trade cooperations in SEIs, while political pressure from the United States has the opposite effect. Furthermore, compared with the influence of third parties, the BRI has created a more robust trade environment characterized by political mutual trust.

BRI-associated countries should strengthen their political communication, and endeavor to transform political consensus and shared vision into concrete collaborative projects, while mitigating geopolitical uncertainties through a sound risk evaluation system. Moreover, they should establish a more transparent and consistent consultation mechanism and leverage the BRI trade network to foster balanced and mutually beneficial partnerships that minimize rivalry and dependence on a single market.

This study goes beyond observed trade cost and incorporates the political factor into the determinants of the BRI trade, thereby expanding the theoretical boundaries of existing BRI research. Also, this study employs bilateral trade data to construct SEIs trade networks (SEITNs) along the BRI route. It provides a comprehensive understanding of the dynamic determinates of the SEITNs will provide valuable practical guidance for enhancing and expanding trade and cooperation among BRI-associated countries.

This research explores the intricate dynamics of national interests realised through Japan's official development assistance (ODA) to China. It aims to deepen the understanding of these mechanisms, detailing the extent to which Japan has accomplished its national interests.

The paper applies the role theory and narrative analysis to elucidate Japan's national role conception and its categories of national interests with regards to its ODA policy. It utilises both qualitative and quantitative methods to examine the success rate in achieving Japan's diplomatic objectives and how those interests have manifested over time.

The findings suggest a mixed outcome. Whilst Japan's ODA to China has helped in expanding trade and fostering mutual understanding and cooperation, it has been less successful in promoting democratic governance in China or effectively counterbalancing China's regional power. Hence, the realisation of national interests through ODA is a complex process contingent upon numerous factors.

This study stands out for its multifaceted approach in examining Japan's ODA policy towards China, integrating both quantitative and qualitative methodologies and applying the role theory in the context of international development aid. It fills a significant gap in the literature by analysing the interplay between national interests and foreign aid, providing nuanced insights into the successes and challenges of Japan's pursuit of its diplomatic objectives. The study's findings have important implications for understanding the complexity of international aid dynamics and can inform future policy decisions in the realm of international relations and foreign aid.

This paper aims to investigate the multifaced aspects and consequences of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) from an Australia-China Relationship perspective.

This paper leverages the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis to examine both the internal and external factors that affect Australia and China in the context of the CBAM. In addition, we employ the PEST (Political, Economic, Social and Technological) framework to identify effective strategies for Australia-China cooperation following the implementation of the CBAM.

Our analysis reveals numerous mutual interests and opportunities for bilateral collaboration, despite challenges and threats, positioning the CBAM as a potentially significant catalyst for joint initiatives.

This paper proposes 10 potential areas for Australia and China cooperation from the political economic social and technological PEST dimensions.

This paper makes a pioneering attempt to explore potential strategies, both individually, and together, that Australia and China can adopt to manage the impact and consequence of CBAM.

This research aims to contribute to History of Education Studies as well as to New Cold War Studies, by examining a Reactor Technology Specialist Engineer program, launched in Hungary three times in the 1980s for Cuban nuclear engineers, graduates of the University of Havana.

The institutional setting, the content of the program, the teaching staff, the students, and the outcomes are studied. The factors that motivated the birth of this special program are examined, including the following areas; in what ways it was different from the courses in which foreign students participated in Hungary; what its strengths and weaknesses were; how we can learn from this past experience and what relevance it has for the present.

The analysis – carried out within the context of Cuban–Hungarian relations in the Cold War – demonstrates that these two satellite countries used the fields of science and education to widen their international possibilities and at the same time to reinforce their national interests by cooperating with each other.

The investigation is based on archival sources, university yearbooks and journals as well as contemporary Hungarian press. Written sources were complemented by interviews with Cuban students and Hungarian teaching staff, thus providing a personal perspective, balancing official views.

Misinformation can influence decision-making by fueling individual's belief, prejudices, and stereotypes. In the context of international trade, misinformation refers to the spread of false or misleading information and facts mostly with the malicious intent of maligning reputation of products, services, trade policies of a country and thus negatively influencing liberal trade policies toward that country. Stereotypes and prejudices fueled by misinformation coupled with economic nationalism and populism cast a dark shadow over the liberal international order. Exaggerated claims about unfair trade practices laced with stereotypes, prejudices, and misinformation can fuel tensions and may eventually lead to trade dispute and retaliatory action such as the imposition of tariffs or breakdown of trade blocs. Fake News, as a term, came into prominence recently during the 2016 US elections. The spread of fake news during the election generated remarkable interest among researchers. While most research focused on the effect of misinformation, a few studies have shown the influence of misinformation in changing trade preferences. The intricate connection among trading partners can propagate misinformation. Misinformation can lead policymakers to undertake protectionist policies. However, policies driven by misinformation, taken by major economies, can have strong rippling effects on other trading partners because of their strong network connectedness. Therefore, it motivates us to understand and evaluate international trade in terms of network statistics. This chapter provides an in-depth analysis of the network effects of some major and emerging economic powers involved in bilateral or multilateral trade agreements.

This study examines how bilateral international trade among mandatory International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adopter countries moderates the relation between IFRS adoption and firms’ financial reporting quality.

The authors use data from 2007 to 2015 and focus on publicly listed firms from non-European Union countries that adopted IFRS on a mandatory basis.

The authors find that the interaction between mandatory IFRS adoption and a country’s bilateral trade with other countries using IFRS is negatively and significantly related to accruals-based earnings management, which is an inverse measure of financial reporting quality. This result is driven by firms in less developed countries. The improvement in accounting quality is for firms located in countries that both fully and partially adopt IFRS. The authors also find a significant and negative coefficient for the relation between real earnings management and the interaction between mandatory IFRS adoption and a country’s bilateral trade with other IFRS countries in the post-global financial crisis period.

Overall, the authors’ results are consistent with the notion that the mandatory adoption of IFRS creates a positive externality where firms improve their accounting quality because increased financial statement comparability means that foreign customers and suppliers can monitor the quality of earnings more easily.

The trading expenses encountered domestically and across borders have a detrimental influence on global trade. Higher trade costs hamper trade and limit the benefits of trade liberalisation. The current research applies Novy's micro-founded trade cost measure (2013) to estimate global trade costs connected with Afghanistan, along with the factors that influence trade costs. Based on the investigation, trade in agriculture costs is significantly higher compared to the non-agricultural. As a consequence, focusing on agricultural trade facilitation would be advantageous.

Furthermore, enhancing and expediting trade facilities in trading areas are top priorities for government intervention to reduce trade costs. Focusing on free trade agreements and better shipment communication with trade partners increases transportation routes efficiently, cutting time and other expenses. The study proposes that the World Trade Organization's trade facilitation agreement be effectively implemented, administrative burdens at entry points minimised, non-tariff barriers (NTBs) be simplified and harmonised and soft infrastructures be established utilising current technologies.