Embedding Section of Digital Technology and Global Value Chain Position

Based on the distance between digital technology input in the manufacturing industry and the final product, this study measures digital technology embedding section bias and employs cross-country panel data to study its impact on the Global Value Chain (GVC) postition. The results show that, first, the impact of digital technology embedding section bias on the manufacturing industry’s GVC position has a significant inverted U-shaped feature, and embedding digital technology in the midstream is more conducive to improving GVC position. Second, embedding digital technology in the midstream can amplify the effect of innovation boundary and capability expansion, cost reduction, and production network linkage strengthening, thereby effectively promoting the improvement of the GVC position. Third, further research shows that embedding digital technology in the midstream is more conducive to alleviating the import dependence of high-tech intermediate products and can more effectively improve the domestic value-added rate of exports and economic growth quality. The above conclusions have important policy implications for optimizing China’s digital development strategy and promoting GVC position.