Research on the Impact of Digital Economy Development in Countries along the “Silk Road Economic Belt” on China’s Export Trade Efficiency

在人类社会经济发展的洪流之中，数字经济作为一种新兴的经济形态，紧随自然经济与工业经济之后，凭借新技术的蓬勃兴起，成为了全球各国政府及组织机构竞相瞩目的焦点所在。“丝绸之路经济带”沿线国家是我国重要的贸易伙伴，近年来我国不断扩大与沿线国家的经贸活动，出口贸易量呈上升趋势。然而近年来全球化进程遭遇逆流，国际贸易摩擦此起彼伏，使得各国的外向型经济活动纷纷呈现出放缓之势。然而正是在这国际经济与贸易活动遭遇阻碍的大背景之下，数字经济却依然展现出了强劲的辐射力与生命力，其或可成为推动国际贸易复苏与摆脱经济低迷的重要驱动力。因此，研究沿线国家数字经济发展水平如何影响我国贸易效率具有重要现实意义。本文通过构建数字经济指标系统，调查2010~2021年沿线43个国家的相应数据，并通过构建数字经济指标系统来衡量沿线国家的数字经济发展水平指数，然后将其作为核心解释变量引入后续模型中并进行实证分析。研究结果表明：① 基于熵值法测算的沿线国家数字经济发展水平综合指数整体呈稳步上升趋势。② 沿线各国内部“数字鸿沟”现象较为严重。③ 沿线国家数字经济水平的提高能够显著降低我国贸易损失，提高我国出口贸易效率。④ 我国与沿线国家经济发展水平的提高有利于扩大双边贸易。⑤ 在制度质量越高的国家，与中国之间的贸易效率越高。In the torrent of human socio-economic development, the digital economy, as an emerging economic form, has become the focus of attention for governments and organizations around the world, following closely behind the natural economy and industrial economy, with the vigorous rise of new technologies. The countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt are important trading partners of China. In recent years, China has continuously expanded its economic and trade activities with countries along the Belt, and the export trade volume has shown an upward trend. However, in recent years, the process of globalization has encountered setbacks, and international trade frictions have emerged one after another, leading to a slowdown in outward oriented economic activities in various countries. However, against the backdrop of obstacles to international economic and trade activities, the digital economy still demonstrates strong radiation and vitality, which may become an important driving force for promoting international trade recovery and getting rid of economic downturns. Therefore, studying how the level of digital economy development in countries along the Belt and Road affects China’s trade efficiency is of great practical significance. This article constructs a digital economy indicator system, investigates the corresponding data of 43 countries along the Belt and Road from 2010 to 2021, and measures the digital economy development level index of the countries along the Belt and Road by constructing a digital economy indicator system. Then, it introduces it as the core explanatory variable into the subsequent model and conducts empirical analysis. The research results indicate that: ① The comprehensive index of digital economic development level of countries along the Belt and Road, calculated based on the entropy method, shows a steady upward trend overall. ② The phenomenon of “digital divide” within the countries along the route is relatively serious. ③ The improvement of digital economy level in countries along the Belt and Road can significantly reduce China’s trade losses and enhance the efficiency of China’s export trade. ④ The improvement of economic development level between China and countries along the Belt and Road is conducive to expanding bilateral trade. ⑤ In countries with higher institutional quality, trade efficiency with China is higher.