Digital Economy and the Sustainable Development of China’s Manufacturing Industry: From the Perspective of Industry Performance and Green Development

Abstract

Digital transformation is increasingly crucial to the upgrading and sustainable development of China’s manufacturing industry with the rapid development of the digital economy. To study the impact of the digital economy on the sustainable development of the manufacturing industry, this study analyzed the theoretical basis of the digital economy’s impact on the promotion of the sustainable development of the manufacturing industry. Then, based on the panel data of manufacturing sectors in 2002, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2015, and 2017, empirical tests and mechanism analysis were conducted by means of the two-way fixed effect model and the mediating effect model. The results were as follows: (1) Digital services can significantly improve the industrial performance of the manufacturing industry, while the effect of digital products is nonsignificant; (2) Mechanism analysis revealed that digital services can promote the industrial performance of the manufacturing industry through the intermediary mechanisms of reducing production costs rather than transaction costs; (3) Digital services can also reduce carbon emissions and promote the green development of the manufacturing industry through the intermediary mechanisms of innovation. In conclusion, digital services can promote the sustainable development of China’s manufacturing industry. This paper provides evidence for the integration of the manufacturing industry and the digital economy. Furthermore, it has important implications for the formulation of digital economy policies and the sustainable development of the manufacturing industry.