The Effects of Service‐Energy Consumption and Cultural Industries on Green Growth in China

Final consumption expenditure as a percentage of GDP, our aggregate proxy for energy demand, is negatively and significantly associated with Chinaʼs green growth over 2004–2022. The relationship holds across specifications (H1 supported), with a long‐run elasticity of −1.29 under Fully Modified OLS (FMOLS). ICT adoption provides no significant positive association, leaving H2 unsupported. Cultural value added is tested without a directional prior under H3 and also has a significant negative long‐run coefficient under FMOLS. We examine these relationships using an annual model guided by Environmental Kuznets Curve theory and sectoral energy transition theory. A Green Growth Index constructed from World Development Indicators is the outcome; population enters alongside the energy‐demand proxy, ICT adoption, and cultural value added. Ordinary Least Squares and Generalised Least Squares with AR(1) correction provide benchmarks for the primary long‐run FMOLS estimates. Consumption‐oriented cultural expansion offers a possible explanation for the cultural result, although the aggregate series cannot identify that mechanism. The policy discussion develops implications for sector‐specific efficiency regulation, green ICT applications, and cultural‐industry finance in China. Application to other Asia‐Pacific economies remains illustrative and requires comparative evidence.