Despite the rapid development of China’s service industry, with the added value of the service sector accounting for over 55% of GDP in 2024, making it the dominant force in the national economy, the structural contradictions in service consumption remain prominent. The 15^th Five Year Plan period is a crucial period for China to move from an upper middle income country to a high-income country. Based on international experience, it is expected that China will enter a stage of rapid growth in service consumption during the 15^th Five Year Plan period. It is expected that by 2030, the proportion of service consumption to total consumption will exceed 50%. Digital intelligence technology will comprehensively penetrate into various fields and links of service consumption. The content of service will continue to innovate, and physical consumption and service consumption will be deeply integrated. Driven by the changes in the demographic structure of society, service consumption will move towards personalization and diversification. During the 15^th Five Year Plan period, in order to promote the high-quality development of service consumption, the institutional bottlenecks in the service supply process should be eliminated, tax policies related to service consumption should be optimized, and service supply should be improved and enhanced through taxation. By adjusting the structure of fiscal expenditure, a social environment conducive to service consumption can be formed. The opening up of the service consumption sector should be expanded, the formation of a high-level service supply system should be accelerated, the consistency of policies promoting service consumption should be enhanced, so as to create a mutually reinforcing situation between commodity consumption and service consumption.

Service consumption is a key driver for boosting consumption and expanding domestic demands. As a spatial carrier of a better life, cities play a crucial role in influencing household service consumption. This paper conducts an empirical research based on the city data from 2012 to 2018 and the data from the China Household Finance Survey (CHFS), the findings reveal that the expansion of city size can significantly promote household service consumption. However, this effect varies structurally, notably increasing the expenditures on household education and entertainment, healthcare, equipment maintenance, and domestic services, while suppressing spending on transportation and communication. Further analysis of the mechanisms reveals that the expansion of city size can boost service consumption by improving service supply on the supply side and enhancing demand for market services on the demand side due to increased commuting costs. The impact of urban size expansion on service consumption exhibits heterogeneity among households and regional differences. The impact on service consumption expenditure of high-income, high work intensity, and middle-aged and young households is more pronounced, and this impact is more prominent in central cities, the cities with high digital infrastructure capability and high innovation ability. Therefore, efforts should be made to promote the coordinated development of new urbanization construction and the improvement and expansion of service consumption.

Regarding the effect of standardization on economic growth, previous studies have primarily focused on the impacts of standardization on economic operation efficiency, while overlooking its role in income distribution. Based on the micro-level financial data of the manufacturing enterprises in China from 2011 to 2023, this study incorporates the logistics standardization policy implemented progressively since 2014 into a staggered difference-in-differences model to examine the income distribution effects of standardization. The findings indicate that logistics standardization can significantly enhance the labor income share of enterprises, providing empirical support for standardization’s role in improving income distribution patterns. The mechanism by which logistics standardization enhances the labor income share of enterprises involves optimizing the human capital structure and mitigating labor market segmentation. Specifically, logistics standardization increases the hiring of highly educated and skilled employees, raises their proportion within the workforce, and significantly reduces the degree of labor market segmentation. The heterogeneity analysis shows that logistics standardization has a more significant effect on the labor income share of the non-state-owned enterprises, the high-tech industry enterprises, the enterprises in regions with stronger policy implementation, and the enterprises in regions with better logistics hardware infrastructure. Therefore, China should take logistics standardization as the core focus, accelerate the construction of a sound standardized circulation system, strengthen the support of circulation infrastructure, and build a coordinated policy system for talent and finance.

Fair competition review is a key institutional arrangement for regulating administrative monopolies, and it holds great significance for building a unified national market and advancing coordinated regional development. Based on the data from 281 cities in China spanning 2012 to 2023, this study takes the implementation of the fair competition review system as a quasi-natural experiment and employs a difference-in-differences model to empirically examine the impact of fair competition review on regional economic disparities. The results indicate that fair competition review can reduce regional economic disparities and facilitate the achievement of coordinated regional development goals. The mechanism analysis reveals that fair competition review narrows regional economic disparities primarily through channels that optimize the formal institutional environment and the informal institutional environment. The heterogeneity analysis shows that fair competition review exhibits a distinct“pulling effect”, which is more effective in reducing the economic disparities in regions with stronger review intensity, weaker development capacity, and a less competitive environment, thereby effectively narrowing the“development gap”between cities. Further research reveals that fair competition review exerts a convergent effect on the economic disparities between cities, yet it has a differentiating effect on the economic disparities within cities. This reveals a tendency of target deviation in the realization of the coordinated regional development goals. Therefore, local governments should actively advance the fair competition review system, foster a sound ecosystem for the free flow of factors of production, and leverage the construction of a unified national market to bridge regional economic disparities and promote coordinated regional development.

Stabilizing expectations and stabilizing investment are key priorities for advancing high-quality economic development. Local fiscal policy uncertainty, as a major external risk source faced by enterprises, has a significant impact on enterprises’ investment behavior. Based on the data from Chinese A-share listed companies, this study empirically analyzes the impact and mechanism of local fiscal policy uncertainty on corporate investment behavior. The findings show that an increase in local fiscal policy uncertainty will significantly reduce the investment scale of enterprises in the region, and when the uncertainty of local fiscal policy increases by 1%, the investment scale of enterprises in the region will decrease by 0.037%. The mechanism analysis reveals that when the uncertainty of local fiscal policies increases, enterprises will reduce investment due to the strengthening of risk aversion motivation. The uncertainty of local fiscal policies can lead to financial intermediaries such as banks being reluctant to lend, reducing the availability of corporate financing and ultimately decreasing the supply of investment funds. The heterogeneity analysis reveals that the investment behavior of non-state-owned enterprises is more sensitive to local fiscal policy uncertainty, and that in areas with high fiscal pressure, the reduction effect of fiscal policy uncertainty on enterprise investment scale is more pronounced. Therefore, it is necessary to further strengthen the countercyclical adjustment and expectation management of fiscal policies, and consolidate the foundation for stable investment by enterprises; to optimize the fiscal decentralization relationship and policy transparency between the central and local governments, and alleviate the imbalance of regional policy uncertainty; to focus on the policy adaptability of small and medium-sized private enterprises and build a targeted policy support system.

The 3^rd Plenary Session of the 20^th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China explicitly called for accelerating the formation of production relations better adapted to new quality productive forces. As a cornerstone and key pillar of national governance, public finance has become a crucial lever for constructing new production relations compatible with new quality productive forces. From a theoretical and logical perspective, the salient feature of new-quality productive forces is innovation, and the development of new-quality productive forces must fully leverage the leading role of innovation. Based on the fiscal policy system with Chinese characteristics, finance can play a fundamental and leading role in scientific and technological innovation, and leverage scientific and technological innovation as a focal point to drive comprehensive innovation, effectively facilitating the development of new productive forces. At the same time, finance accelerates the cultivation and formation of new productive forces through the practical paths such as scientific and technological innovation, factor allocation, industrial structure, institutional guarantees, and policy coordination. However, the current fiscal support for the development of new productive forces still faces multiple practical dilemmas. In view of this, accelerating fiscal support for the development of new productive forces should follow the overall principles of basic support, directional guidance, and risk management. We should deploy the innovation chain around the industrial chain, allocate various high-quality production factors around the innovation chain, coordinate and promote fiscal and tax system reforms, strengthen the coordination and cooperation of various policies, and systematically integrate supports for the development of new productive forces.

Major emergencies have had a significant impact on the security of global supply chains. As the micro-constituent entities of the complex production networks, enterprises’ capital allocation is bound to be affected by supply chain risk shocks. Based on the data from Chinese listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share markets from 2007 to 2022, this study employs the text analysis method to quantify supply chain risk shocks at the firm level and empirically examines the impact of supply chain risk on corporate capital allocation behavior. The research findings indicate that an increase in supply chain risk prompts firms to reduce investment in the real economy and increase investment in financial assets. The mechanism test indicates that supply chain risks exacerbate the phenomenon of enterprises“shifting from real to virtual”through two channels: increasing transaction costs and reducing profit levels. The moderating effect test reveals that supply chain diversification mitigates the impact of supply chain risks on enterprises’ shift from real to virtual, while excessive asset specificity intensifies this impact. The heterogeneity analysis finds that the financialization effect of supply chain risks is more pronounced in enterprises with non-export-oriented supply chain configurations, lower resource advantage positions, and lower levels of digital technology. To this end, relevant government departments should accelerate the establishment of a supply chain risk management system, cultivate a healthy market ecosystem, optimize and improve the supply chain network, guide enterprises to rationally adjust their capital allocation strategies, and break the dilemma of financialization of real enterprises.

Based on the human nature assumption of“unity of all things”, this paper distills the essential characteristics of Eastern management into a dual-dimensional framework: self-discipline and benefiting others — self-improvement and perseverance. The former employs self-discipline as a means and altruism as an outcome, while the latter is driven by sustainable progress and follows a path of dynamically resolving contradictions. Both share the cognitive foundation of“inner seeking”and achieve mutual reinforcement via the“moral-capability spiral.”Cross-cultural texts and practical cases demonstrate that by adhering to ethical norms, pursuing self-improvement, and caring for others, managers can realize their own value while benefiting society and others, jointly advancing society toward“great harmony”in a way of balanced evolution. Additionally,“self-discipline and benefiting others”and“unending self-improvement”manifest distinct characteristics in Eastern countries due to different cultural customs, historical circumstances, geographical environments, and national systems. The research findings provide axiomatic propositions for constructing an Eastern subjectivity management theory and contribute alternative solutions to addressing global business ethic problems and sustainable development challenges.

Identifying the endogenous drivers behind the transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises toward“Specialized, Refined, Distinctive and Innovative”(SRDI) enterprises is of profound strategic significance for building a self-sufficient and secure modern industrial system. Based on the 86 policy texts on the cultivation of specialized, refined, unique, and innovative enterprises issued by various central ministries and commissions from 2011 to 2024, this study integrates NVivo12 high-frequency word statistics, Dynamic Topic Model (DTM), and Grounded Theory research method to reveal the deep mechanism of gradient cultivation policies driving the endogenous development of the specialized, refined, unique, and innovative enterprises. The research findings show that the policy system exhibits a dynamic evolutionary characteristic of“technology incubation - capability enhancement - ecosystem empowerment”, precisely adapting to the gradient capability needs of the specialized, refined, unique, and innovative enterprises. Through a transmission path of“target setting (guiding role) - resource adaptation (supporting role) - motivation activation (promoting role)”, policy instruments drive the enterprises to form a dynamic mechanism for the development of specialized, refined, unique, and innovative enterprises, which involves the progressive coupling and cyclic interaction of four driving elements: human capital, technological innovation, production methods, and brand market. Further analysis reveals that significant differences in this dynamic mechanism exist among the three types of gradient enterprises: specialized, refined, unique, and innovative enterprises. Innovative enterprises exhibit an“exogenous dependency”pattern; specialized, refined, unique, and innovative SMEs demonstrate a“conduction block”pattern; and specialized, refined, unique, and innovative“little giant”enterprises show a“feedback loop”pattern. In light of this, it is recommended that future policies anchor around the endogenous development needs of enterprises, precisely implement strategies in conjunction with endogenous driving factors and their synergistic mechanisms, and focus on combining gradient design with dynamic governance to enhance the effectiveness of policy implementation.

At present, trade digitalization has a new trend in the development of international trade, and its impact on domestic income distribution is increasingly prominent. From the perspective of trade welfare, this study takes“cross-border e-commerce + industrial belt”as an example and utilizes the related panel data of prefecture-level cities to examine the impact of trade digitalization on labor income share and its underlying mechanisms. The research findings indicate that trade digitization can significantly enhance labor income share, with its mechanism involving the mitigation of price“involution”at both the origin and outcome stages of trade, thereby increasing labor income share. The heterogeneity analysis reveals that trade digitization has a more pronounced impact on the cities with weak trade foundations and those with a higher proportion of manufacturing. Further analysis reveals that trade digitization can maintain export resilience under adverse trade conditions. Although the“cross-border e-commerce + industrial belt”model generates significant economies of scale, the scope economies brought by the network remain inconspicuous. Against the backdrop of smart manufacturing, trade digitization fosters a complementary effect between data and labor factors, thereby achieving the integration of production intelligence and an increase in labor income share. Therefore, it is necessary to actively formulate a trade digitization strategy, guide cross-border e-commerce to gather in traditional manufacturing bases, promote cross-border e-commerce innovation, enhance the adaptability of labor factors and cross-border data factors, so as to fully leverage the effect of trade digitization on the increase of labor income share.

Public data access is an important measure to enhance government governance capabilities and promote economic transformation and development. Taking the launch of public data open platforms in various cities as a natural experiment, this study empirically tests the impact and mechanism of public data openness on the performance of national audit functions. The findings reveal that open public data can promote the functioning of national auditing. The mechanism analysis shows that public data openness promotes the national audit function through the two paths: promoting the informationization construction of audit institutions and improving the digital technology application capabilities of auditors. The heterogeneity analysis shows that the promotion effect of public data openness on the national audit function is more pronounced in the cities with high government financial transparency, developed media, and high levels of digital infrastructure construction. To this end, it is necessary to strengthen the construction of public data open platforms, to use big data and other technologies to improve the quality and efficiency of audit work, to establish and improve the connection mechanism between audit data and government public data platforms, breaking down data barriers and eliminating audit blind spots.

The disclosure of audit rectification reports constitutes a crucial component of the audit result disclosure system, and the perception of audit effectiveness significantly influences public trust in government. Using experimental research methods, this study investigated the impact of the disclosure of audit rectification reports on the public’s perception of audit effectiveness, as well as the moderating effect of audit functional schemas and audit confidentiality knowledge on the relationship between the two. The findings show that making audit rectification reports public can increase the public’s perception of audit effectiveness. Compared to the public with corruption governance patterns and the public with low levels of audit confidentiality knowledge, the public with error detection and rectification patterns and the public with high levels of audit confidentiality knowledge are more likely to increase their perception of audit effectiveness after reading the audit rectification reports. Therefore, we must adhere to the disclosure of audit rectification reports, utilize the public dissemination function of audit rectification reports, and strengthen the promotion of the basic functions of auditing and the audit confidentiality knowledge.