Does intelligent development attract foreign direct investment? Empirical evidence from prefecture-level cities in China

The digital economy's expansion is leading multinational enterprises to reshape their global investment strategies, with regional intelligent development becoming a decisive factor in foreign direct investment (FDI) flows. Analyzing panel data from 290 Chinese cities between 2012 and 2022, through a two-way fixed effects model, this study establishes that intelligent development significantly attracts FDI—a finding robust to endogeneity and specification checks. Mechanism tests reveal that intelligent development draws FDI by cultivating digital human capital, enhancing regional innovation, and advancing digital financial inclusion. The impact exhibits notable heterogeneity: stronger in cities southeast of the Hu Line, complementary in commercially attractive cities, and diminishing low-cost labor's traditional advantage. Importantly, intelligent technology adoption and policy implementation outperform mere digital infrastructure in promoting FDI. These results highlight intelligent development's crucial role in securing FDI within the digital-intelligent economy.