ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Sustain. Food Syst.
Sec. Agricultural and Food Economics
This article is part of the Research TopicDigital Technologies for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural DevelopmentView all 4 articles
Global Value Chain Participation and Sustainable Upgrading through Digitalization: Evidence from China's Agri-Food Manufacturing Sector
Provisionally accepted
Yu-Qing Shen
YI-ZE QIN*- Tongji University School of Economics and Management, Shanghai, China
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Introduction: This study reveals digital infrastructure as a "trust machine" enabling disadvantaged agri-food producers to access high-value global markets within 3-5 years. Despite being the world's largest agricultural producer, Chinese agri-food firms capture disproportionately small value shares in global value chains, with export unit values 38.8% below global averages. This study investigates whether provincial digital infrastructure can fundamentally alter GVC positioning and enable sustainable upgrading. Methods: Using provincial panel data covering 31 Chinese provinces (2010-2022, N=403), this study employs two-way fixed effects models, instrumental variables, and propensity score matching difference-in-differences leveraging the "Broadband China" pilot policy. Results: A one-standard-deviation increase in digital infrastructure associates with 27.8% export growth, improved unit values (+4.5%), OECD market share (+2.13 percentage points), and product complexity (+15.1%). Western provinces demonstrate impacts three times larger than eastern regions. Perishable products show 2.5-fold stronger responses. Quality certification (35%), cold chain logistics (28%), and e-commerce platforms (18%) collectively explain 81% of effects. Conclusion: These findings introduce "infrastructure-enabled upgrading" demonstrating that public infrastructure investment accelerates upgrading within 3-5 years. Results validate prioritizing digital infrastructure toward western provinces and cold chain systems. For developing countries, digital infrastructure provides replicable pathways for overcoming geographic constraints and accessing premium markets.
Keywords: agri-food manufacturing, China, Digital infrastructure, digitalization, export performance, Global value chain, sustainable upgrading
Received: 30 Oct 2025; Accepted: 11 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Shen and QIN. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: YI-ZE QIN
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