Against the backdrop of anti-globalization rhetoric, this paper summarizes our joint book entitled Going Beyond Aid (Lin and Wang, 2017a) and discusses the prospects for development finance in the broad context of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Based on the New Structural Economics (Lin, 2010; 2011), here we focus on China’s demonstrated comparative advantages in infrastructure, e.g. in hydropower and high-speed railways (HSR). In addition, long-term orientation (LTO) and patient capital are latent comparative advantages that many Asian economies possess, and are critical for the Belt and Road Initiative. Only if these comparative advantages are utilized can these economies cooperate to potentially achieve win-win.

Although infrastructure is widely recognized as a key ingredient in a country’s economic success, many issues surrounding infrastructurespending are not well understood. This paper explores six themes: the returns to infrastructure; the role of the private sector; the evaluation and delivery of infrastructure in practice; the nature of network industries, pricing and regulation; political economy considerations of infrastructure provision; and infrastructure in developing countries. This paper aims to provide insights into many of these questions, drawing on the existing literature.

Intra-regional trade serves as a key growth engine for East Asian economies. Accompanying the rapid growth of bilateral and intra-regional trade ties, the East Asian economies are becoming increasingly connected and interdependent. Infrastructure connectivity plays a crucial role in bridging different areas of the East Asian region and enabling them to reap the full socioeconomic benefits of economic cooperation and integration. Nevertheless, further improvement of infrastructure in the region faces major challenges due to the lack of effective mechanisms for coordination and dialogue on regional integration through funding infrastructure projects, as well as the serious trust deficit among member states that has arisen from the on-going territorial and historical disputes.

This research implements sustainable environmental practices by repurposing post-industrial plastic waste as an alternative material for non-conventional construction systems. Focusing on the development of a recycled polymer matrix, the study produces panels suitable for masonry applications based on tensile and compressive stress performance. The project, conducted in Portoviejo and Medellín, comprises three phases combining bibliographic and experimental research. Low-density polyethylene (LDPE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and polypropylene (PP) were processed under controlled temperatures to form a composite matrix. This material demonstrates versatile applications upon cooling—including planks, blocks, caps, signage, and furniture (e.g., chairs). Key findings indicate optimal performance of the recycled thermoplastic polymer matrix at a 1:1:1 ratio of LDPE, HDPE, and PP, exhibiting 15% deformation. The proposed implementation features 50 × 10 × 7 cm panels designed with tongue-and-groove joints. When assembled into larger plates, these panels function effectively as masonry for housing construction, wall cladding, or lightweight fill material for slab relieving.

To investigate the effect of the location of vacuum insulation panels on the thermal insulation performance of marine reefer containers, a 20^ft mechanical refrigeration reefer container was employed in this paper, and the physical and mathematical models of three kinds of envelopes composed of vacuum insulation panels (VIP) and polyurethane foam (PU) were numerically established. The heat transfer of three types of envelopes under unsteady conditions was simulated. In order to be able to analyze theoretically, the Rasch transform is used to analyze the thermal inertia magnitude by calculating the thermal transfer response frequency and the thermal transfer response coefficient for each model, and the results are compared with the simulation results. The results implied that the insulation performance of VIP external insulation is the best. The delay times of each model obtained from the simulation results are 0.81 h, 1.45 h, 2.03 h, and 2.24 h, while the attenuation ratios are 8.93, 20.39, 20.62, and 21.78, respectively; the delay times calculated from the theoretical analysis are 0.78 h, 1.43 h, 1.99 h, and 2.20 h, respectively; and the attenuation ratios are 8.84, 20.31, 20.55, and 21.72, respectively. The carbon reduction effect of VIP external insulation is also the best. The most considerable carbon reduction is 3.65894 kg less than the traditional PU structure within 24 h. The research has a guiding significance for the research and progress of the new generation of energy-saving reefer containers and the insulation design of the envelope of refrigerated transportation equipment.