The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) aims to enhance connectivity and collaboration among 60 countries and beyond in Asia, Africa and Europe. Information and communications technology (ICT) is an indispensable component of the initiative, critical in providing fundamental communication channels for global financial transactions, trade exchanges and transport and energy connectivity, and socio cultural collaboration and scientific exchanges between people, organizations and countries along the BRI corridors. Previously constrained by infrastructure deficits in ICT, the Asia-Pacific region is accelerating its efforts to provide reliable and affordable broadband networks throughout the region, to contribute to successful implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Within the BRI corridors, this study which has been undertaken as part of the research programme of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) on promoting regional economic cooperation and integration, focuses on the China-Central Asia Corridor (China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan), giving attention to the sub-region’s specific challenges, namely limited international transit opportunities and an increase in bandwidth requirements that is expected to grow exponentially, as the fourth industrial evolution centered on automation and artificial intelligence gathers momentum. The sub-region is characterized as highly dependent on the ease and costs of connecting to neighboring countries for transit, as many countries in the sub-region are landlocked developing countries (LLDC). Because of the geographical features and other factors, the development potential of Central Asia and its integration into globalization, continues to be stymied by insufficient international bandwidth and high transit costs to access international links. Therefore, improved ICT connectivity in Central Asia through the BRI corridor could result in improved availability and affordability of broadband networks and services in the sub-region.

For the purpose of this study, a gap analysis is the methodology that underpins the proposed topology for the China-Central Asia Corridor. The analysis included examining the current state of the optic infrastructure, such as existing and planned fiber-optic networks, existing Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) and international gateways. The study also identifies the key factors that determine the desired future state of infrastructure deployment for the BRI initiative. A topology that consists of connecting Almaty (Kazakhstan) and Urumqi (China), as core nodes, is proposed based on a partial mesh topology. Over and above this core finding, the study concludes that digital infrastructure connectivity has a tendency of lagging behind the rapid opportunities evolving, and the study therefore advocates for sub-regional and regional approaches, including the BRI and Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway (AP-IS) in further expanding regional broadband networks. A key recommendation of the study is co-deployment of broadband infrastructure along passive infrastructure, as an additional cost effective means of achieving fast and affordable broadband connectivity for all.

STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) education has recently been encouraged and attracted much national attention. This qualitative study aimed to conduct a thematic analysis of college student STEAM open responses to provide an examination of college students’ perceptions of their STEAM experiences into the STEAM field. Based on transformative learning theory, a thematic analysis of 756 written responses to seven prompts by 108 college student participants revealed three primary themes: (1) exciting and challenging difficulties, and transdisciplinary learning in STEAM; (2) STEAM learning of gradual process, problem-oriented instruction, and creative problem solving; and (3) metacognition development in STEAM. The findings revealed that undergraduates’ STEAM perceptions provide strong support for STEAM implementation to enhance teaching effectiveness in higher education.

The R3A Route represents a collaborative initiative involving the governments of Thailand, Laos, and China aimed at bolstering connectivity along the North-South Economic Corridor, as a vital component of the Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Cooperation Program (GMS). Since its inception in 2008, this endeavor has substantially enhanced the logistical framework between Thailand, Laos, and China. However, it has also revealed an imbalance in the benefit distribution of value chains within the tourism industry. One of the fact that, local stakeholders in each country often leverage their home country’s advantages, leading to the exploitation of counterparts with lower capacity in other nations. This unfair utilization goes against the initial intentions of fostering collaboration among these countries. Given China and its development as a starting point for tourism and its popularity among tourists traveling this route, this study provides a comprehensive analysis of China’s policy and insights of its influences on R3A tourism development in Laos and Thailand. The study constructs a content analysis with an umbrella of stakeholder analysis based on reliable data and is cross-verified through data triangulation. The findings lead to recommendations aimed at making Thai-Lao-Chinese tourism cooperation more sustainable and effective.

Analysis of the factors influencing the price of carbon emissions trading in China and its time-varying characteristics is essential for the smooth operation of the carbon trading system. We analyse the time-varying effects of public concern, degree of carbon regulation, crude oil price, international carbon price and interest rate level on China’s carbon price through SV-TVP-VAR model. Among them, the quantification of public concern and the degree of carbon emission regulation is based on microblog text and government decisions. The results show that all the factors influencing carbon price are significantly time-varying, with the shocks of each factor on carbon price rising before 2019 and turning significantly thereafter. The short-term shock effect of each factor is more significant compared to the medium- and long-term, and the effect almost disappears at a lag of six months. Thanks to public environmental awareness, low-carbon awareness and the progress of carbon market management mechanisms, public concern has had the most significant impact on carbon price since 2019. With the promulgation of relevant management measures for the carbon market, relevant regulations on carbon emission accounting, financing constraints, and carbon emission quota allocation for emission-controlled enterprises have become increasingly mature, and carbon price signals are more sensitive to market information. The above findings provide substantial empirical evidence for all stakeholders in the market, who need to recognize that the impact of non-structural factors on the price of carbon varies over time. Government intervention also serves as a key aspect of carbon emission control and requires the introduction of relevant constraints and incentives. In particular, emission-controlling firms need to focus on the policy direction of the carbon market, and focus on the impact of Internet public opinion on business production while reducing carbon allowance demand and energy dependence.

Comparative analysis of the development history of sports social organizations in China, Japan and South Korea from multiple perspectives, in order to provide reference suggestions for solving the existing problems of the development of sports social organizations in China as well as for the sustainable development in the future. This paper explores the optimization path of sports social organizations in China by using the literature method and comparative analysis method. The study finds that the current development of sports social organizations in Japan and South Korea is characterized by independence and autonomy, a relatively rich number and variety of organizations, mutual separation of powers and responsibilities between government agencies and social organizations, and autonomous operation and efficient governance of sports social organizations. The development of sports social organizations in China has reached a new level since the founding of New China, and the Party’s attention to and support for their development has been increasing, but China still has deficiencies in the number of organizations, organizational capacity, and policy system. The study concludes that Japan and South Korea have three development conditions for sports social organizations: a socially oriented governance system, a more complete policy and regulation system, and a standardized and efficient financial support system. The study concludes that the prosperity of sports social organizations is crucial in building a strong sports nation at the present time. Combining the successful experiences of Japan and South Korea and integrating into China’s national conditions, we strive to build a governance system that combines government and society, construct a diversified financial support system, and improve the policy support system for sports organizations to promote the progress of sports social organizations in China, and open the way for the autonomy and independence of sports social organizations in China, and put the improvement of the governance system of sports social organizations on the agenda.