Evaluation and spatial agglomeration analysis of the green competitiveness of China’s manufacturing industry at the provincial level

The pressures to maintain a low-carbon economy makes green competitiveness (GC) a significant issue in China. It has been found that the development of Internet and E-commerce contributes significantly to GC of regional economy, yet there are still lack of quantitative investigation on their effects, which can be used to further guide the economic development. Therefore, this study constructs a new evaluation index for the green competitiveness of the regional manufacturing industry in China by introducing Internet application indicators and E-commerce development indexes into its evaluation system. The results show Jiangxi and Gansu moved upward significantly in the GC ranking over the period. The development of the Internet and E-commerce has the most significant impact on GC of regional manufacturing. The lack of green manufacturing capabilities and green innovation drivers led to a decline in the GC ranking of Liaoning, Tianjin, Guangxi and Heilongjiang. Finally, this study uses Moran’s I index to investigate the spatial agglomeration effect of the green development of the manufacturing industry at the province level. The results show an increase in the GC of China’s regional manufacturing industry, and the GC of manufacturing industry shows a significant agglomeration effect. Based on the above conclusions, the proposal to promote the balanced development of the GC of the manufacturing industry is proposed.