In the context of sustainable development, how the digital economy affects the development of new-type urbanization is a matter of concern. Based on the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2011 to 2020, this article empirically explores the effect of the digital economy on the quality of new-type urbanization development. The results show the following. (1) The digital economy can significantly improve the development quality of new-type urbanization, which is still significantly valid after a series of robustness tests. (2) The mechanism analysis shows that the upgrading of industrial structures is an important transmission path for the digital economy to improve the quality of new-type urbanization development. (3) The spatial effect analysis shows that the development of the digital economy can not only significantly improve the quality of new-type urbanization development in this region, but also improve the quality of new-type urbanization development in surrounding areas through spillover effects. (4) The heterogeneity analysis shows that the development of the digital economy in the central and western provinces of China and in the big data pilot provinces plays a greater role in promoting the quality of new-type urbanization development. It is clear that the construction of new-type urbanization should fully consider the development trend of the digital economy, seize the policy and the technological dividends brought about by the digital economy, and explore more development opportunities.

Against the backdrop of China’s “dual-carbon” goals, the complex interplay between fiscal decentralization and green taxation presents significant challenges for climate governance. This study examines the impact of green taxation on carbon emissions within the context of fiscal decentralization, with a particular focus on spatial spillover effects and multidimensional indicators of fiscal decentralization. Drawing on panel data from 30 Chinese provinces between 2007 and 2022, we apply spatial Durbin and moderating effect models to examine these relationships. Our findings reveal a counterintuitive positive association between green taxation and carbon emissions, indicating the presence of a “green paradox.” Furthermore, the three dimensions of fiscal decentralization—revenue decentralization, expenditure decentralization, and fiscal autonomy—demonstrate heterogeneous relationships with carbon emissions, including inverted U-shaped, U-shaped, and linear patterns, respectively. The interaction effects between green taxation and fiscal decentralization also exhibit notable spatial spillover effects and emission reduction potential. The contribution of this study lies in its integrated analysis of multidimensional fiscal decentralization, spatial econometric methods, and underlying mechanisms, thereby addressing underexplored dimensions of China’s environmental fiscal policy. These findings not only provide policy insights for China but also offer valuable references for other developing and transitional economies striving to align fiscal and environmental governance.

High-quality development (HQD) is a fundamental requirement for current and future macroeconomic regulation in China. This study measured the high-quality co-ordinated development (HQCD) index of 284 cities in China from 2010 to 2019 using the entropy weighted TOPSIS method and coupled co-ordination model, and examined the impact of regional HQCD on enterprises’ green technology choices by combining data from Chinese listed companies. The results show the following: (1) Regional HQCD significantly promotes enterprises’ green technology choices, but does not substantially change the direction of their green technology progress. Specifically, co-ordinated regional economic–ecological system development promotes the enterprises’ technological progress toward green practices. Moreover, co-ordinated urban development has a self-reinforcing effect on the preference for green technology choices. (2) Regional HQCD enhances the screening effect of enterprises on green technology by alleviating financial constraints and increasing the awareness of social responsibility. (3) Regional HQCD has a more pronounced promotional effect on green technologies in the categories of transportation; energy conservation; and administration, regulation, or design. Private enterprises and cities with a high-administrative rank responded to the green technology selection effect of regional HQCD. This study enriches the theory and literature on the influence of government policies on firm behavior, and also provides a reference for the international community.

Servitization is an important trend in the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry, but whether it can significantly improve enterprise performance is the key to the transformation. Based on the sample of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2011 to 2019, we analyze the business scope of 2502 annual reports to identify the service level of consumer goods manufacturing enterprises. The results show the following. (1) The “service performance” curve shows obvious nonlinear trends and heterogeneity in different industries and different performance conditions. The curve between servitization and return on assets tends to show a positive “U” shape, but the relationship between servitization and revenue per employee obviously shows an inverted “U” shape. (2) Manufacturing enterprises with relatively low technical complexity and relatively high industry competition will reach the inflection point of service performance “U” curve more quickly and get rid of “service trap” more easily. (3) The automobile manufacturing industry invests in software development and other fields that are not related to its own advantages, which violates the correlation law of the industrial value chain, leading to the coexistence of “service trap” and “principle-agent dilemma.” The clothing and electrical appliances industries are more likely to fall into the “service trap” because they face the challenge of “Internet + manufacturing” transformation. The beverage and wine manufacturing industry has induced a “service spillover” effect, which is mainly due to its low technical complexity and service based on the industrial chain. It is proposed that manufacturing enterprises explore business growth points from the perspective of industrial value chain extension and strengthen upstream product R&D and terminal e-commerce services.