“…The following abbreviations are used in this manuscript: NCER (Northeast Comprehensive Economic Region); NCCER (Northern Coastal Comprehensive Economic Region; ECCER (Eastern Coastal Comprehensive Economic Region); SCER (Southern Coastal Economic Region); YRCER (Yellow River Basin Comprehensive Economic Region); YRBCE (Yangtze River Basin Comprehensive Economic Region); GSCER (Great Southwest Comprehensive Economic Region); GNCER (Great Northwest Comprehensive Economic Region). Province numbers: Liaoning (6), Jilin (7), Heilongjiang (8), Beijing (1), Tianjin (2), Hebei (3), Shandong (15), Shanghai (9), Jiangsu (10), Zhejiang (11), Fujian (13), Guangdong (19), Hainan (21), Shaanxi (27), Shanxi (4), Henan (16), Inner Mongolia (5), Hubei (17), Hunan (18), Jiangxi (14), Anhui (12), Yunnan (25), Guizhou (24), Sichuan (23), Chongqing (22), Guangxi (20), Gansu (28), Qinghai (29), Ningxia (30), Tibet (26), Xinjiang (31).…”