China's pilot free trade zone and high-quality economic development: the mediation effect of data real integration and the regulating effect of technological innovation

As an important measure for China to promote institutional opening up in the new era, the China Free Trade Pilot Zone (PFTZ) plays an important role in promoting the current sustainable development and high-quality economic growth. This study regards China's PFTZ as a quasi-natural experiment. Select sample data from 30 provinces and cities in China from 2008 to 2020 and conduct empirical analysis using the multi-period difference-in-differences method. By constructing an evaluation index system for high-quality economic development, verify the impact of PFTZ on high-quality economic development. This study innovatively explores the intermediate effects of the integrated development of the digital economy and the real economy and the moderating effects of technological innovation variables. The study found that the implementation of the PFTZ has greatly stimulated the high-quality development of the regional economy. After a series of robustness tests, such as parallel trend testing and PSM-DID testing, the conclusion still holds. Promoting the integrated development of the digital economy and the real economy has become a new way for PFTZ to create high-quality regional economic results. In the process of promoting high-quality economic development in PFTZ, technological innovation plays a key regulatory role. This research not only provides a breakthrough path to promote high-quality economic development but also provides a solid theoretical and empirical basis for an in-depth discussion of the sustainability of PFTZ on economic development.