Digital finance, export growth, and sustainability: a study based on Chinese manufacturing enterprises

In recent years, with the efficient integration of digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data with modern financial services, digital finance has gradually played an important role in the export growth of manufacturing enterprises. Studying the impact of digital finance on the export growth of manufacturing enterprises has become an important issue in the current transformation of foreign trade for manufacturing enterprises. This article studies the internal role of digital finance in the growth of enterprise exports from a new perspective of digital finance, aiming to demonstrate the impact of digital finance on the sustainability of Chinese manufacturing enterprise exports. Based on theoretical analysis of the impact of digital finance on enterprise exports, this article uses micro-matching data from the China Industrial Enterprise Database and the Customs Database to empirically test the impact and mechanism of digital finance on enterprise export growth. Empirical research has found that digital finance significantly promotes the growth of enterprise exports, and there is a positive correlation between digital finance and enterprise export growth. This conclusion remains robust after a series of tests. The heterogeneity test shows that digital finance has a more significant role in promoting the export growth of private enterprises and enterprises in the eastern region. Mechanism research shows that digital finance mainly promotes enterprise export growth through mechanisms such as alleviating manufacturing enterprises' financing constraints and enhancing their innovation capabilities, which is consistent with the sustainable development goals. This article provides evidence to support the innovative development of the digital finance and guide the transformation of traditional financial institutions to digital financial services. It also provides useful ideas for enterprises to solve export financing problems and achieve export growth.