Digital Economy and Location Selection of OFDI: A Study Based on the Data of Listed Manufacturing Companies in China

This paper empirically analyzes the investment data of Chinese A-share manufacturing listed companies in 52 host countries from 2003 to 2022, and discusses the influence of digital economy development on Chinese manufacturing enterprises' direct investment location choice. The results show that the development of host country digital economy has a significant positive impact on the location choice of Chinese manufacturing enterprises' OFDI. In terms of the mechanism of action, the digital economy of the host country affects the location choice of Chinese manufacturing enterprises on direct investment by influencing innovation ability and institutional quality.