China’s digital and green (twin) transition: insights from national and regional innovation policies

Abstract

This paper examines the role of policy in China’s digital and green (twin) transition, building on a qualitative study of a large corpus of policy documents in green and digital domains. We analyse the multi-level governance of these transitions for three regional case studies: Shanghai, Wuhan and Hangzhou. We find that regions both adopt and adjust green and digital aims and means differently from national policy. A twin transition is not comprehensively addressed at the national level, but is partially implemented in the three regions. Based on our findings, we develop a regional typology sketching top-down policy implementation strategies.