In recent decades, cheap labor has played a central role in the Chinese model, which has relied on expanded participation in world trade as a main driver of growth. At the beginning of China's economic reforms in 1978, the annual wage of a Chinese urban worker was only $1,004 in U.S. dollars. The Chinese wage was only 3 percent of the average U.S. wage at that time, and it was also significantly lower than the wages in neighboring Asian countries such as the Philippines and Thailand. The Chinese wage was also low relative to productivity. However, wages are now rising in China. In 2010, the annual wage of a Chinese urban worker reached $5,487 in U.S. dollars, which is similar to wages earned by workers in the Philippines and Thailand and significantly higher than those earned by workers in India and Indonesia. China's wages also increased faster than productivity since the late 1990s, suggesting that Chinese labor is becoming more expensive in this sense as well. The increase in China's wages is not confined to any sector, as wages have increased for both skilled and unskilled workers, for both coastal and inland areas, and for both exporting and nonexporting firms. We benchmark wage growth to productivity growth using both national- and industry-level data, showing that Chinese labor was kept cheap until the late 1990s but the relative cost of labor has increased since then. Finally, we discuss the main forces that are pushing wages up.

Icosahedral, octahedral, and cubic Pd@Pt core-shell nanocrystals with two atomic Pt layers are epitaxially generated under thermodynamic control. Such icosahedra exhibit remarkably enhanced catalytic properties for oxygen reduction reaction compared to the octahedra and cubes as well as commercial Pt/C, which can be attributed to ligand and geometry effects, especially twin-induced strain effect that is revealed by geometrical phase analysis.

Designing new materials and structure to sustain the corrosion during operation requires better understanding on the corrosion dynamics. Observation on how the corrosion proceeds in atomic scale is thus critical. Here, using a liquid cell, we studied the real-time corrosion process of palladium@platinum (Pd@Pt) core-shell nanocubes via transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results revealed that multiple etching pathways operatively contribute to the morphology evolution during corrosion, including galvanic etching on non-defected sites with slow kinetics and halogen-induced etching at defected sites at faster rates. Corners are the preferential corrosion sites; both etching pathways are mutually restricted during corrosion. Those insights on the interaction of nanostructures with reactive liquid environments can help better engineer the surface structure to improve the stability of electrocatalysts as well as design a new porous structure that may provide more active sites for catalysis.

Nowadays, we face a series of global challenges, including the growing depletion of fossil energy, environmental pollution, and global warming. The replacement of coal, petroleum, and natural gas by secondary energy resources is vital for sustainable development. Hydrogen (H2) energy is considered the ultimate energy in the 21st century because of its diverse sources, cleanliness, low carbon emission, flexibility, and high efficiency. H2 fuel cell vehicles are commonly the end-point application of H2 energy. Owing to their zero carbon emission, they are gradually replacing traditional vehicles powered by fossil fuel. As the H2 fuel cell vehicle industry rapidly develops, H2 fuel supply, especially H2 quality, attracts increasing attention. Compared with H2 for industrial use, the H2 purity requirements for fuel cells are not high. Still, the impurity content is strictly controlled since even a low amount of some impurities may irreversibly damage fuel cells’ performance and running life. This paper reviews different versions of current standards concerning H2 for fuel cell vehicles in China and abroad. Furthermore, we analyze the causes and developing trends for the changes in these standards in detail. On the other hand, according to characteristics of H2 for fuel cell vehicles, standard H2 purification technologies, such as pressure swing adsorption (PSA), membrane separation and metal hydride separation, were analyzed, and the latest research progress was reviewed.