Existing Development Issues and Optimised Governance Strategies in the Digital Economy Era

Against the backdrop of the global wave of digital industrial transformation, the digital economy has become a key driver of high-quality economic development in China. In 2024, China's digital economy reached RMB 59.2 trillion, accounting for 43.8% of GDP. Yet rapid expansion has also generated multiple governance challenges. Drawing on industry reports, official regulatory documents, authoritative news cases, and Chinese and international academic literature, this paper systematically examines the practical constraints on the sustainable development of the digital economy from four dimensions: market competition, data security, balanced industrial development, and digital labour. It also analyses the underlying mechanisms of these problems through the representative case of the Ctrip antitrust penalty. The study finds that an incomplete legal framework, fragmented cross-departmental regulation, insufficient supporting industrial policies, and the absence of rules protecting digital workers have collectively contributed to disorderly operation by digital platforms. Accordingly, it proposes a comprehensive optimisation framework at four levels: legal reform, coordinated government regulation, industrial policy support, and protection of workers' rights and interests. The findings offer practical governance guidance for balancing the innovative dynamism of the digital economy with regulated development.