Government–business relations, environmental information transparency, and Hu-line-related factors in China

China's report of government–business relation (GBR) index focuses on the roles of the GBR in improving information transparency of economy and society, but ignores the GBR’s potential in enhancing environmental information transparency (EIT). This research employs the data from 120 cities in 30 provinces in China to map the distribution of GBR and EIT, which basically coincides with Hu-line (population density and developed economy boundaries in China), showing the trend of high-quality performance in the eastern region of China, but low-quality performance in the central and western region of China. To study the relations of GBR, population, GDP per capita with EIT, and their influential degree on EIT, the test of Pearson correlation coefficient, ordinary least squares, and multiple linear regressions are, respectively, applied in the study. Moreover, the intra-provincial comparison is conducted to study the discrepancies of EIT within a province in different regions of China. The results show that the EIT-population relation and the EIT-GDP per capita relation both present inverted U-shaped curves, and GBR is positively related to EIT. Moreover, there are the more balance performance of EIT within the province in the eastern China, while the central and western of that is opposite. This work firstly finds the relation among GBRI, EIT, and Hu-line and extends the application of environmental Kuznets curve. Policy and managerial implications are expounded to enhance the performance of EIT and sustainability by developing the potential of GBR and better allocating resources.