Digital Technology Innovation and the Development of China’s International Consumption Center Cities: Mechanisms, Empirical Evidence, and Policy Implications

Abstract

Against the backdrop of deep integration between digital technology innovation and the global economy, examining the impact of digital technology innovation on the development of China’s international consumption center cities is of critical importance. Drawing on the pilot city list for international consumption centers and the Global Cities Index, this paper selects 25 Chinese cities as the research sample, including Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Chongqing, Tianjin, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Wuhan, and Xi’an, and constructs a balanced panel covering 2015 to 2022, yielding 200 city-year observations. Through theoretical mechanism analysis and the construction of an evaluation index system—measuring digital technology innovation by digital invention patents per 10,000 people, R&D expenditure intensity, and the number of high-tech enterprises, and measuring international consumption center city development across consumption scale, international influence, digital infrastructure, business environment, and cultural attractiveness—it employs both fixed-effects and mediating-effects models for comprehensive empirical analysis. Heterogeneity analysis further shows that the positive effect is more pronounced in eastern and digitally advanced cities than in central and western cities. Based on these findings, this paper proposes relevant recommendations in six areas: strengthening the leading role of digital technology innovation, optimizing the industrial structure layout, improving digital infrastructure, enhancing the quality of the consumption environment, deepening international cooperation and exchanges, and expanding the international consumption market.