Understanding China’s Information Technology Policy System Through Policy Citation Networks: A Spatio-Temporal Diffusion Analysis

Focusing on China’s information technology policy system, this study investigates the spatio-temporal evolution of policy–reference patterns and their implications for policy diffusion. Using 33,702 policy documents and 3150 citation links from the PKULaw database, we construct a policy citation network and combine social network analysis with ordinary least squares (OLS) and geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR). The results show that observed policy–reference relationships remain strongly characterized by top-down administrative coordination, while the policy–reference network has expanded to involve a broader range of regions and increasingly diverse interregional connections. These changes are accompanied by increasing citation intensity and textual differentiation, while pronounced regional disparities persist. The regression results reveal that citation-based diffusion indicators are associated with regional development capacity. Economic and industrial foundations are positively associated with policy–reference outcomes, whereas the associations of urbanization and R&D investment vary across different diffusion dimensions. GTWR further reveals that these associations vary across space and time. By integrating policy citation networks with spatio-temporal analysis, this study advances understanding of policy-system evolution under centralized governance and informs differentiated digital policy coordination.