The Impact of Digital Economy Development on China’s Agricultural Exports to the Five Central Asian Countries

Abstract

In recent years, the digital economy has emerged as a new engine for global economic growth. As key partners in the Belt and Road Initiative, the five Central Asian countries have seen increasingly frequent agricultural trade exchanges with China. Based on trade data from 2015 to 2024, this paper first examines the current state of China’s agricultural exports to these countries in terms of trade volume and product structure. Subsequently, a measurement index system for digital economy development is constructed, and the entropy method is employed to assess the digital economy development levels of the five Central Asian nations. Furthermore, a gravity model is applied to analyze the impact of their digital economy development on China’s agricultural exports to the region. The findings reveal that the digital economy in Central Asia has shown consistent annual growth and exerts a significant positive effect on China’s agricultural exports to these countries. Finally, relevant policy recommendations are proposed based on the above analysis.