How can imported digital products drive green transformation? Firm-level evidence from Chinese manufacturing

The accelerated proliferation of digital economic systems has fundamentally transformed global trade patterns, with digital commodities constituting a principal determinant of commercial interactions. While trade have exerts profound impacts on the environment, the specific environmental implications of digital product imports remain largely unexplored. By utilizing an extensive firm-specific dataset spanning China’s manufacturing sector, this research employs a quasi-experimental PSM-DID methodology to explore the causal connection between the import of digital products and environmental sustainability. The results indicate that firms importing digital products can increase output while reducing pollution levels, thereby decreasing emission intensity. Further discussion reveals that the mitigation effect is primarily attributed to abatement technology rather than energy efficiency. Mechanism tests confirm that firms achieve environmental improvement through abatement equipment investment, technological innovation, and energy structure optimization. In addition, digital product imports exhibit greater abatement effect on firms characterized by higher capital intensity, foreign ownership, or inland locations.