Service Trade and New Energy Use: A Study of China’s Pilot Cities from the Perspective of Institutional Innovation

As trade in services continues to play an increasingly important role in international trade, effectively integrating its advancement with green development has become a key issue for China in shaping a new development paradigm. This study treats the service trade pilot city policy as a quasi-natural experiment, employing the Difference-in-Differences (DID) method to investigate the policy’s impact on urban green energy use. The findings indicate that the policy significantly boosted green energy consumption in pilot cities. Heterogeneity analysis reveals more pronounced policy effects in eastern regions and provinces with smaller populations. Furthermore, synergistic effects emerge when this policy interacts with artificial intelligence (AI) technology policies and urban environmental policies, further amplifying green energy consumption outcomes. Consequently, this study proposes recommendations including strengthening institutional innovation in green services trade within pilot zones, establishing cross-regional green collaboration networks, and promoting multi-policy coordination. These findings offer valuable insights for developing countries seeking to achieve sustainable development through services trade liberalization.