Spatial-Temporal Variations and Driving Factors of the Coupling and Coordination Level of the Digital Economy and Sustainable Rural Development: A Case Study of China

Sustainable rural development forms a robust foundation for economic and social sustainability. Moreover, the digital economy acts as a catalyst for advancing rural sustainable development by altering the distribution of production factors. Thus, this study concentrates on 30 provinces in China, constructing an evaluation index system for both the digital economy and rural sustainable development. The study employs various methods and models to analyze the spatiotemporal changes and driving factors affecting the coupling and coordination between these two aspects. The research findings are as follows: the coupling and coordination levels among provinces in China have been on the rise year by year. By 2022, the coupling and coordination levels of most provinces range between 0.5 and 0.6. Regional disparities are the primary determinant of the poor overall coupling and coordination level in China. In 2022, the coupling and coordination level in the eastern region is 0.6663, compared to 0.5420 in the central region and 0.5087 in the western region. Factors such as urbanization, industrial structure transformation, technological innovation, higher education, economic development, and government support significantly influence the coupling and coordination level. Nevertheless, their effects vary across regions, with a more pronounced impact in the eastern region than in the central and western regions. Therefore, this paper proposes policy recommendations, including infrastructure optimization, rural digitization promotion, regional resource allocation enhancement, cross-regional development mechanism exploration, and differentiated development strategy implementation.