The Impact of Trade Facilitation on Cross-Border E-Commerce Transactions: Analysis Based on the Marine and Land Cross-Border Logistical Practices between China and Countries along the “Belt and Road”

In the post-epidemic era, cross-border e-commerce has become a new growth point for global foreign trade. Unlike traditional trade, which is dominated by marine transport, cross-border e-commerce transactions have high requirements for both marine and land transport, and the scale of their trade is accordingly limited by the level of trade facilitation i.e., the convenience of cross-border logistics in bilateral trading countries. Based on transaction cost theory, this article takes cross-border e-commerce transactions between China and countries along “The Belt and Road” as the core of the study. From the perspective of marine and land transport timeliness, the theoretical framework is constructed using the marine and land logistics infrastructure, customs clearance environment, government–governance environment, and cross-border logistics services as the main influencing paths; the GMM method is then applied in order to conduct a study on the impact of trade facilitation on the scale effect of cross-border e-commerce. The study finds that marine and land transport infrastructure has the strongest impact, with customs clearance environment and government–governance environment having the second strongest and comparable impact. The findings of the study further clarify the differences in the application of different cross-border logistics facilitation measures, and provide a theoretical basis for improving the timeliness of cross-border e-commerce transactions and reducing trade costs as well as a reference for the realization of land–sea integration and land–sea interconnection under “The Belt and Road” initiative.

International relations through the prism of the new technological division of power

The aim of this paper is to determine which country has technological superiority in the field of industry by analysing the strategic approaches to the industrial development of three leading industrial countries (Germany, China, and the US), as well as selected indicators of industrial development. The results of the research show that China has the most ambitious approach and pretension to take a leading position in a large number of high-tech industries. Since 2014, China has become the second-largest industrial power, right after Germany, while the US has been in fourth place since 2017. China leads in terms of the share of industrial products in global trade and the share of manufacturing value added in the total world gross domestic product. Since 2015, China and Germany have developed intensive cooperation in the area of hi-tech industrial production, while bilateral relations between China and the US are tight due to the trade war. While the US, as the third-largest bilateral trading partner of Germany (after China and the Netherlands), is generating a trade deficit, China is making a breakthrough towards the European market, which is in line with the strategy of taking the position of a global leader in high technology.

Sharia Banks Integration and Diversification in Asian and Middle East Countries

The growth of Sharia Banking in Indonesia shows that Sharia banking in Indonesia is not only an international hub for Sharia banking in other regions but also as a place for investors to diversify investment portfolios other than conventional banking. The certainty of Sharia banking in term of stability makes Sharia Banking in Indonesia connected to one another. However, opportunities for portfolio diversification to Sharia banks in this case; Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Qatar, Bahrain and Japan are in questioned on whether there is integration between Sharia banking in those region and whether there is a possibility of Diversification of Sharia banking Portfolios in the region. In this manner the study is analysed on 25 banks’ data across selected countries. In the present study, ROA (Return on Assets) and ROE (Return on Equity) are used as measure of performance of diversification of banks. The number of credits and the amount of credits that Sharia banks let borrowers’ use are employed as control variables. According to the result of the analysis showed Indonesia Sharia banks Integration with another Sharia banks in selected countries are varied based the geographical proximity and bilateral trading relation with selected countries.