A Study on the Mechanisms of Digital Technology Empowering High-Quality Development of Foreign Trade

Foreign trade constitutes a vital component of China's open economy and serves as a pivotal hub for facilitating the dual circulation of domestic and international markets. Promoting high-quality development in foreign trade holds profound significance for China's transformation from a “trade giant” to a “trade powerhouse.” This paper first theoretically analyzes the impact mechanism of digital technology on China's high-quality foreign trade development. Subsequently, based on provincial-level balanced panel data from 2013 to 2023, an empirical model is established to test the theoretical analysis. The findings conclude that digital technology significantly and positively promotes high-quality foreign trade development, validating its role through industrial structure optimization and green technological innovation. However, the study reveals that the promotional effect of digital technology on high-quality foreign trade development does not always follow a linear increasing trend. and that fixed asset investment constrains the driving effect of digital technology on high-quality foreign trade development.