Aligning with High-Standard International Rules: Institutional Openness in Digital Services Trade Agreements
Against the backdrop of the global digital trade rule system restructuring, where Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) have become the core vehicle for digital rules, this paper focuses on the core issue of institutional opening in digital service trade to align with high-standard international rules. Based on a text quantification methodology, the study selects RTAs containing digital service trade clauses that were signed and entered into force between 2000 and 2024 as samples. It constructs heterogeneity indicators for these clauses and combines data visualization techniques such as box plots and heat maps with empirical analysis to examine the influencing factors of the signing of digital service trade clauses and their quality. The research finds that geographical distance, economic scale, the digital divide, and differences in institutional environments significantly affect the signing of RTAs and the quality of their clauses. This study provides empirical support and policy recommendations for China to precisely align with high-standard international digital service trade rules and advance institutional opening.
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