In July 2024, the book Research on the Urban Development Index of Internationalization Central Cities in Northeast Asia edited by Yu Miaojie, Huo Chunhui, and Yao Shujie was published by Liaoning University Press.
Introduction to this book
The world is undergoing momentous changes unseen in a century. China's development is still in a period of important strategic opportunities. A new development pattern with the domestic cycle as the main body and the domestic and international cycles promoting each other is forming. Cities are gathering places for regional population, industries and essential resources, and they are the “locomotive” that drives economic and social development. To achieve high-quality economic development, it is necessary to give full play to the supporting, leading and driving role of the central city, so as to promote the high-quality coordinated development of the economy and the city. At present, Northeast Asia, as an important region to promote the development of the world economy, plays an important role in regional economic cooperation and global economic competition. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized at the symposium on all-around rejuvenation of Northeast China in a new era that “Northeast China is an important gateway for our country to open up to the north, and its strategic position and role in strengthening regional cooperation in Northeast Asia and connecting domestic and international dual cycles are becoming more and more prominent.” In this context, building a high-quality urban development index is an important issue in building an international central city in Northeast Asia.
The Urban High-quality Development Index is an aggregative indicator for comprehensively measuring urban development. With high-quality development as the connotation, this project focuses on major strategies such as the construction of Shenyang's modern metropolitan area, the construction of Northeast Asia's internationalized central city, and the construction of the national central city. 32 sub-provincial cities and capital cities, as well as 4 municipalities directly under the Central Government, are selected as research samples to build special indexes from ten aspects: politics, finance, trade, science and technology, culture, education, medical care, transportation, information, and green, and then synthesize the comprehensive development index of Northeast Asia's internationalized central cities. The research on the urban development index is an important work that analyzes the level of comprehensive urban development in depth. It aims to use scientific methods to comprehensively assess the comprehensive urban development capabilities, which is of great significance to promote the high-quality development of cities: It is fully reflecting the comprehensive strength of the city. The urban development index comprehensively examines indicators from multiple aspects to comprehensively reflect the comprehensive strength of the city, including economic, social, environmental and other levels. This helps to truly and objectively grasp the overall development level of the city, rather than one-sided emphasis on a certain aspect of the data.
Scientifically guide urban planning and policy formulation. The urban development index reflects the weak links and potential problems of urban development, and helps the government to formulate urban planning scientifically. The detailed itemized data of the index can help the government allocate resources in a more targeted manner and promote the city's development in a balanced and sustainable direction.
For attracting investment and promoting high-quality economic development, the urban development index is one of the reference bases for investors to choose to invest in cities. A good urban development index can create a good image of the city and attract more investment and business opportunities, thereby promoting high-quality economic development.
For promoting high-level international exchanges and cooperation, the Urban Development Index provides a standardized tool for comparison between different cities and countries. This comparison helps to strengthen the exchange of experience and cooperation between cities and promote sustainable development.
Overall, the urban development Index can not only scientifically measure the comprehensive development status of cities, but also provide strong support for achieving sustainable urban development, improving the quality of life of residents, attracting investment and promoting global urban cooperation. Through a comprehensive investigation of the comprehensive development of the city, we hope to provide a valuable reference for the realization of the sustainable prosperity of the city and the construction of a better life for residents.
About the Authors
Professor Yu Miaojie, a doctoral supervisor, Ph. D. in economics at the University of California, Davis, USA, who was born in 1976, is currently a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress, special supervisor of the National Supervision Commission, member of the Standing Committee of Liaoning Provincial People's Congress, member of the Legislative Committee of Liaoning Provincial People's Congress, deputy secretary of the CPC Committee and president of Liaoning University. He is a Fellow of the United Nations International Economic Association (IEA), a recipient of the National Outstanding Youth Fund, an outstanding young scientist in Beijing, a Boya Distinguished Professor at Peking University, a member of the Economic and Trade Policy Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Commerce, a member of the "China US Research Think Tank Alliance" of the Ministry of Finance, an honorary professor at Irkutsk State University in Russia, and an international advisory council member at the University of Finance and Economics in the Russian Federation. He is the Vice President of the China Society of World Economics, Vice President of the China Society of Quantitative Economics, Vice Chairman of the China Society of Industrial Economics, Vice President of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, Vice Chairman of the Liaoning Federation of Social Sciences, Huang Tingfang/Xinhe Young Outstanding Scholar, and one of the top 1% highly cited economists in the global management field. He is also the only Chinese scholar to have won the Royal Economics Prize in the UK so far. Professor Yu was appointed as an expert consultant by the United Nations, the Asian Development Bank, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Commerce, the State Council Counselor's Office, and multiple local governments, and specifically invited to give a report on China's economic development at the United Nations headquarters. He is obtaining special government allowances from the State Council. Professor Yu Miaojie's research field is international trade and the development of the Chinese economy. He has previously published articles in the Economic Journal Review of Economics & Statistics、Journal of International Economics、Journal of Development Economics、 Published nearly 200 papers in top domestic and international journals such as Economic Research and Management World, as well as 27 monographs, textbooks, and commentaries in Chinese, English, and German. He served as Deputy Editor in Chief of the internationally renowned academic journal Review of International Economics, Executive Editor in Chief of the Ministry of Commerce's International Trade, Editor in Chief of the Journal of Liaoning University, Editor in Chief of Japanese Studies, and Executive Editor in Chief of the Journal of Chang'an University. Professor Yu Has won the Excellent Achievement Award in Philosophy and Social Sciences from the Ministry of Education (three times), the Beijing Excellent Achievement Award in Philosophy and Social Sciences, the Wu Yuzhang Humanities and Social Sciences Research Award, the Zhang Peigang Development Economics Award, and the An Zijie International Trade Research Award (five times). His representative work "Processing Trade and Enterprise Productivity" has won the Liu Shibai Economics Award, Hu Sheng Youth Academic Research Award, National Trade Development Research Award, China Youth Economist Award, Liaoning Philosophy and Social Science Award Achievement Award, etc.
Huo Chunhui, a Ph.D. in Management and doctoral supervisor, is currently a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Committee and Vice President of Liaoning University. He has been selected as one of the first batch of outstanding young talents in the "Xingliao Talent Plan" in Liaoning Province, the one of top hundred people of "Hundreds of Thousand Talents Project" in Liaoning Province , the "Excellent Talents Support Plan" in Liaoning Province (at the first level), and the leading talent in Shenyang City. His main research areas are strategic management, innovation management, and marketing. His hosted 2 projects funded by the National Social Science Fund, 1 sub project of a major project funded by the National Social Science Fund, 1 project funded by the Ministry of Education, and more than 30 provincial and ministerial level projects. Published over 100 academic papers in SSCI and CSSCI core journals and newspapers both domestically and internationally, authored 18 academic monographs and translated works, received approval from provincial leaders for multiple political proposals, and won more than 20 scientific research achievement awards including the Liaoning Provincial Natural Science Academic Achievement Award and the Liaoning Provincial Philosophy and Social Science Achievement Award.
Professor Yao Shujie, Dean of the Li Anmin Economic Research Institute at Liaoning University, Senior Professor, Vice Chairman of the 10th Academic Committee of Liaoning University (2023-), Secretary General of Center for Urbanization and Regional Innovation Pole Development, and Distinguished Professor of the National Talent Plan of the Ministry of Education. He graduated from Hainan University with a bachelor's degree and obtained a master's degree and a doctor's degree in economics from the University of Manchester, UK, and a postdoctoral researcher from Oxford University. In 2014, he returned to China full-time and served as the Deputy Director of the Department of Social Sciences at Chongqing University, as well as a National Distinguished Professor. Professor Yao formerly served as the founding dean and professor of the School of Contemporary Chinese Studies and Confucius Institute at the University of Nottingham, UK. He is an economic advisor to international organizations such as the World Bank and the United Nations. He has worked and researched in over 20 countries in Europe, Africa, and Asia. From 1997 to 1998, Professor Yao served as the President of the China Economic Society in the UK. Since 2012, he has been a Senior Advisor for Soft Science in China. In 2021, he served as the Chairman of the Undergraduate Education Guidance Committee for Economics in Higher Education in Chongqing, and in 2021, he was awarded the title of Chongqing Talent - Outstanding Scientist.
Professor Yao published over 200 papers in dozens of renowned academic journals, including Journal of Political Economy and Economic Research (14 articles), both domestically and internationally. He published 19 monographs and compilations in both Chinese and English in renowned publishing houses both domestically and internationally. Professor Yao Published over 100 articles in mainstream domestic and foreign media such as Financial Times, People's Daily, Guangming Daily, Reference News, and People's Forum. He also served as a special commentator for CGTN Radio, and had multiple discussions with former national leaders such as Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, Wen Jiabao, Wang Qishan, and Liu Yandong. He is currently Serving as an editorial board member for multiple SSCI/CSSCI journals such as Economic Research, and Chief Editor of Digital Economy and Sustainable Development.
Professor Yao’s works and papers have been cited 7906 times on Google Scholars, with 45 H-index papers (28 in the past five years), 92 i10 index papers, and 2 highly cited papers in the past three years, cited 4475 times by Chinese CNKI, with a maximum of 810 citations per article. He received the title of Highly Cited Scholar in Applied Economics by Elsevier for 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023, as well as the lifetime and annual rankings of the top 2% of global scientists in 2022 and 2023. He ranked as one of the top 1000 outstanding scientists in the field of economic and financial management in modern times in the UK (261), following Professor James Mirrlees, the Nobel laureate in economics.
After returning to China for work, he led a major project funded by the National Social Science Foundation (completed in one go), a general project funded by the National Natural Science Foundation (later evaluated as excellent), a key research project of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and more than 10 other provincial and ministerial level scientific research projects. Received the 9th Zhang Peigang Development Economics Excellent Paper Award, An Zijie International Trade Excellent Article Award, multiple national and provincial-level scientific research excellent achievements first, second, and third prizes and excellent article awards, and the Chongqing Daily Top 10 Excellent Theoretical Articles Award for two consecutive years in 2020 and 2021. More than ten political reports have been approved and adopted by national and provincial leaders, and relevant suggestions on the construction of modern transportation infrastructure and rural revitalization have been included in Chongqing's 14th Five Year Plan. The Chinese article has been reprinted 17 times in full by the National People's Congress through photocopying materials.
