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ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

The impact of cross-border e-commerce on urban air quality: Evidence from China’s pilot zones

Shiwen Luo1 ,  Kejie Chen2 ,  Qi Fan3*
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1 Department of International Economics and Trade, School of International Business, Zhejiang Financial College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
2 Department of Cross-Border E-Commerce, School of Digital Commerce and Trade, Zhejiang Polytechnic University of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
3 Department of International Trade, School of Economics and Management, Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
AJWEP, 025500380 https://doi.org/10.36922/AJWEP025500380
Received: 9 December 2025 | Revised: 5 February 2026 | Accepted: 9 February 2026 | Published online: 26 March 2026
© 2026 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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Abstract

Amid rapid urbanization and industrialization, the pressing challenge of air pollution, cross-border e-commerce (CBEC) has emerged as a potential driver of environmental governance in China. Using CBEC pilot zones as a quasi-natural experiment, this study employs a multi-period difference-in-differences model on panel data from 284 Chinese cities (2009–2022) to assess the effect of CBEC on urban air quality, measured by sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions. The findings revealed that CBEC significantly reduced SO2 emissions, thereby improving air quality. Heterogeneity analysis indicated that this positive effect was more substantial in eastern regions, cities with better digital infrastructure, and those with relatively weaker environmental regulations. Mechanism analysis further identified three key pathways: green technology innovation, productive service industry agglomeration, and resource allocation optimization. The study suggests that deepening CBEC reforms and expanding pilot zones can serve as effective policy tools for synergistically advancing economic growth and environmental sustainability.

Graphical abstract
Keywords
Cross-border e-commerce
Cross-border e-commerce pilot zones
Urban air quality
Green technology innovation
Resource allocation
Productive service industry agglomeration
Funding
This research was funded by the Key Youth Research Project of the Basic Scientific Research Program of Zhejiang Financial College (the external mechanisms for high-quality development of cross-border e-commerce pilot zones; 2023ZD03); and the Scientific Research Special Funds in Zhejiang Shuren University (for the project: Theoretical Mechanism, Inffuence Effect of and Countermeasures against Digital Technology on Labor Wage Gap; 2025XZ021).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare they have no competing interests.
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Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution, Electronic ISSN: 1875-8568 Print ISSN: 0972-9860, Published by AccScience Publishing
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