Digital Trade and Regional Economic Resilience: A Case Study from China

Given the intricate and dynamic international political and economic landscape, effectively preventing and resolving risks and challenges while bolstering the resilience of economic development has emerged as a focal point for both political and academic spheres. Utilizing panel data from Chinese provinces spanning 2013 to 2021, this study employs the entropy weight method to gauge the level of digital trade and economic resilience in each region, subsequently exploring the impact of digital trade on regional economic resilience along with its underlying transmission mechanisms. The findings reveal a significant positive effect of digital trade on regional economic resilience, which is robustly supported by endogeneity test. Mechanism testing demonstrates that this impact primarily stems from upgrading effects in industrial structure at the production end and resource allocation effects, whereas consumption-driven upgrading effects at the consumption end are not deemed significant. Moderation effect testing further indicates that improvements in transportation infrastructure can enhance the promotion of digital trade on regional economic resilience. Regionally, central regions and regions with higher marketization levels exhibit the strongest promotional effect of digital trade on economic resilience. Additionally, there exists a spatial spillover effect stemming from digital trade development's influence on economic resilience.