Does New Digital Infrastructure Enhance the Regional Export Technological Sophistication? Empirical Evidence Based on China’s Smart City Pilot Policy

The processes and effects of implementing new digital infrastructure also provide valuable experience for the transformation and upgrading of export economies in developing countries within the global trade system. Using panel data from 258 cities in China from 2003 to 2021, in the present study, the smart city pilot policy is taken as a quasi-natural experiment to investigate the introduction of new digital infrastructure. The results of this study reveal that new digital infrastructure significantly enhances regional export technological sophistication, and the conclusions are robust. This advancement is achieved mainly by improving information infrastructure, increasing the level of regional technological innovation, improving the quality of urban human capital, and promoting industrial structure transformation and upgrading. The promoting effect of new digital infrastructure is greater in coastal cities, and large cities. These findings provide not only an analytical perspective and empirical basis for assessing the impact of new digital infrastructure but also an important policy reference for the high-quality development of China’s export trade. Furthermore, they provide insights from China’s experience for countries worldwide, especially developing nations, to enhance their trade competitiveness and optimize their positions in the global value chain through digital infrastructure construction. This contribution resonates with the shared global demand for improving the quality and efficiency of trade in the era of the digital economy.