Cross-Border E-Business and Air Quality: A Quasi-Natural Experiment from the Perspective of Natural Resources

As a key initiative to integrate economic growth and green development in the era of the digital economy, the environmental effects of China’s Cross-border E-commerce Comprehensive Pilot Zone (CBEC-PZ) policy are not yet clear. Based on city-level data from 2014 to 2021 in China and leveraging the CBEC-PZ policy as a quasi-natural experiment, this study reveals that the CBEC-PZ policy has significantly enhanced local air quality, with particularly pronounced effects in eastern regions. While the policy did not degrade air quality in surrounding areas, spatial correlations of air quality levels among regions were observed due to atmospheric circulation dynamics. These findings underscore the importance of emphasizing regional coordination in green development within urban governance frameworks. The CEBC-PZ promotes the transformation of the energy structure and the improvement of air quality through reverse innovation, an ecological competitive advantage, and an agile governance mechanism. It is recommended to help synergize sustainable development and high-quality development in terms of strengthening reverse innovation and institutional innovation, expanding cross-regional synergistic governance, and deepening digital-real integration.