Spatial and Temporal Analysis in High-Quality Development Level of Shandong Province

In the context of China's economic transformation and upgrading and regional coordinated development strategy, Shandong Province, as an important region in the Yellow River Basin, its high-quality development level is significant to promoting regional economic growth and achieving sustainable development. The focus of this study is to (1) establish a high-quality development evaluation index system based on five dimensions: innovation, coordination, sharing, greenness, and openness; (2) apply the entropy weight method to evaluate the high-quality development level of Shandong Province from 2008 to 2022; (3) analyze the difference and correlation of high-quality coordinated development among 17 cities in Shandong Province from 2009 to 2022. The finding suggests Shandong Province has achieved outstanding performance and progress in the high-quality development of innovation, sharing, and greenness dimensions while needing to improve in coordinated and openness dimensions. The high-quality coordinated development of 17 cities in Shan dong Province reflects spatial differences and an aggregation effect, showing that most inland cities gather in cold spot areas with low development levels. The study concludes by offering implications for the future high-quality and coordinated development of Shandong Province based on the insights gained from the analysis.