Food security and digital economy in China: A pathway towards sustainable development

The world’s largest food producer, China, is now facing increasing pressure to solve food security and is committed to forging new prospects for global food security and sustainable agricultural development. As food security is receiving greater attention, this research takes panel data from 31 provinces and cities in China from 2011–2020 to examine the spatial spillover effect of the digital economy on food security. The study conclusions are as follows. (1) Improvement of the digital economy significantly promotes the development of China’s food security. (2) The digital economy has an inhibitory effect on food security in local regions and promotes food security in neighboring regions. (3) Heterogeneity exists within the spatial spillover effects of the digital economy on food security, and such differences often vary based on the status of regional economic development, natural geographical location, and land function. Therefore, policy suggestions proposed herein cover three aspects: accelerating infrastructure investment and construction, improving the empowering capability of the digital economy, and implementing different digital economy strategies to better support food security in China.