The Spatial Role and Influencing Mechanism of the Digital Economy in Empowering High-Quality Economic Development

Based on the data from 2012 to 2022, this paper comprehensively uses exploratory spatial data analysis, the panel threshold model, and the spatial Durbin model to explore the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics and mechanisms of digital economy and high-quality economic development. The results show that the center of gravity of China’s digital economy development has gradually concentrated in the southeast region, and the level of high-quality economic development has improved rapidly, gradually forming a pattern of radiation driving the development of the central and western regions with the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Pearl River Delta. The digital economy can significantly improve the level of high-quality economic development, but this effect has a lag effect, and it can be extended to the fifth stage. There is a single threshold for high-quality economic development of the digital economy, and the two stages of its development can significantly promote the high-quality development of the economy, but the effect of the latter stage is weakened, showing the nonlinear characteristics of first strong and then weak. The digital economy has a notable positive spatial spillover impact, and its development dividend will raise this province’s and its bordering provinces’ levels of high-quality economic development.