Digitalization of circulation and sustainable resilience of food systems: spatial effects and transmission mechanisms

In the context of increasing global challenges to food security, including climate change, economic disruptions, and supply chain instability, the digital transformation of agricultural circulation systems has attracted growing attention as a potential driver of sustainability and resilience. Using panel data from 30 Chinese provinces spanning 2013–2022, this study empirically examines the impact of digital transformation of circulation (DTC) on the sustainable resilience of food systems (SRFS). A fixed-effects model is employed, complemented by spatial econometric models, mediating effect analysis, and threshold models to capture spatial spillovers, underlying mechanisms, and nonlinear effects. The results indicate that DTC significantly enhances SRFS by optimizing the structure of the food industry, and these findings remain robust after addressing endogeneity and conducting sensitivity analyses. Spatial analysis reveals pronounced heterogeneity in spillover effects: DTC exerts a negative indirect effect on geographically adjacent regions, while generating positive spillovers for regions with strong agricultural trade linkages. Mechanism analysis shows that these effects are driven by the alleviation of factor market distortions and the promotion of industrial convergence. Furthermore, the impact of circulation digitalization on SRFS exhibits diminishing marginal effects and a threshold effect associated with agricultural industrial agglomeration. Taken together, the findings underscore the importance of circulation digitalization in strengthening food system resilience and provide empirical support for the design of more targeted and differentiated digital development strategies in agriculture.