Spatiotemporal Characteristics and Obstacle Factors of Digital–Green Synergy Development in Rural China

Digital–green synergy development is a critical pathway for promoting comprehensive rural revitalization and high-quality development. Using panel data from 31 Chinese provinces spanning 2012 to 2023, we employ the global entropy weight method, a coupling coordination degree model, kernel density estimation, and an obstacle degree model to systematically analyze the spatiotemporal evolutionary characteristics and obstacle factors underlying this synergy, aiming to provide a scientific basis for regionally differentiated comprehensive rural revitalization. The findings reveal that: (1) Both digitalization and greenization have improved steadily, though the growth rate of greenization lags behind that of digitalization. The level of digital–green synergy development, although initially low, shows continuous growth. (2) Spatially, digital–green synergy development exhibits a pattern of eastern leadership, central catching-up, western transition, and northeastern stagnation. (3) Nationally, the absolute disparity in digital–green synergy development continues to widen, indicating growing polarization. Regionally, the eastern region exhibits multipolarization, the central region shows bipolarization, while the western and northeastern regions display no significant polarization trends. (4) Production digitalization and living greenization are the primary constraints hindering synergy. Based on these findings, we propose targeted policy recommendations to facilitate deeper integration between rural digitalization and greenization, supporting decision-makers in advancing digital–green synergy development.