“…Based on the statements above, the following interaction hypotheses are proposed: First, traditionally, due to pursuit of a higher gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate and competition among regional governments (Li & Zhou, 2005), the practice of expending resources on restoring and protecting the environment is not widespread in China. However, having maintained high-speed economic growth in such a transitional economy for decades, the Chinese Government is making changes in its policies toward environmental issues (Dong, Xue, Dong, & Xu, 2015). Under this regulatory pressure, the listed firms in China are likely to make more environmental expenditures (Li & Lu, 2016).…”