Digital Cooperation, Uneven Upgrading and the Governance Dilemma: Evidence from China–Thailand Cross-Border Digital Economy Collaboration

Digital Cooperation, Uneven Upgrading and the Governance Dilemma: Evidence from China–Thailand Cross-Border Digital Economy Collaboration | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Digital Cooperation, Uneven Upgrading and the Governance Dilemma: Evidence from China–Thailand Cross-Border Digital Economy Collaboration Leilong Ma, Supanika Leurcharusmee This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8696636/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 12 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study examines the potential public-policy implications of the China–Thailand Digital Economy Cooperation Agreement for the upgrading of Chinese firms. Using firm-level data and a difference-in-differences approach, upgrading is measured through digital transformation, green transition and productivity. The DID estimates indicate that digital cooperation is associated with higher upgrading on average, but the gains are uneven across firms. Firms with stronger initial digital capabilities benefit more, consistent with capability-related disparities in the returns to digital cooperation. State-owned enterprises experience larger effects than private firms, which may have implications for competitive neutrality.while carbon-intensive industries respond more strongly, consistent with concerns about potential cross-border carbon leakage. Firms with a higher pre-policy high-skill share also gain more, consistent with skill-complementary upgrading and potential distributional implications. These findings highlight a potential governance trade-off: digital cooperation can accelerate upgrading, while uneven gains across firms and industries suggest possible distributional and environmental concerns, underscoring the importance of complementary policies on digital inclusion, access to infrastructure, and cross-border environmental governance. Business and commerce/Business and management Social science/Business and management Business and commerce/Economics Social science/Economics Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences China-Thailand digital cooperation enterprise upgrading double difference digital divide competitive neutrality carbon leakage technology-biased inequality Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files Supplement.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 04 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 29 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 15 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 14 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 12 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 08 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 04 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 02 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 31 Mar, 2026 Editor invited by journal 24 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 10 Feb, 2026 First submitted to journal 10 Feb, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8696636","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":617680765,"identity":"01589bcc-f569-43d2-845b-d912350ffd4f","order_by":0,"name":"Leilong Ma","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA10lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACPgbGxgNgFnsDTIwHvxY2BsYGiBaeAzAhgloYGCBqJRKI1cLe3HDg445aBt2Zj59u5mGwk2eQ7z2AXwvPwYaDM88cZzC7nWZ2m4ch2bCBjS8BvxaJxIbDvG3HgFpy2IBamBOAphjg1yL/EKrl5hmQlnoitEgwgrTUMJjd4AFpOUyEFp5EoF/aDjCYnUkzuznH4LhhG1sOfi387McfPvjYVsdgdvzwsxtvKqrl+ZnP4NcCBYfrG8C0ASSmiAF1RKobBaNgFIyCEQkAwvdA3A5CsD4AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Chiang Mai University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Leilong","middleName":"","lastName":"Ma","suffix":""},{"id":617680767,"identity":"225eb419-423e-4547-a3fd-2ede43818e77","order_by":1,"name":"Supanika Leurcharusmee","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Chiang Mai University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Supanika","middleName":"","lastName":"Leurcharusmee","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-01-26 05:08:18","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8696636/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8696636/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":106724129,"identity":"67f6d61d-05b8-471b-9a3a-2bf039da9866","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-12 18:26:05","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":534528,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8696636/v1_covered_3192c726-5f75-459e-ac2b-459fadaa0ae6.pdf"},{"id":106442539,"identity":"47bee757-ba45-4aac-8a54-fd7651c1cf82","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-08 15:00:51","extension":"docx","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":554004,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Supplement.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8696636/v1/94a674c741ac02eb1006b22c.docx"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Digital Cooperation, Uneven Upgrading and the Governance Dilemma: Evidence from China–Thailand Cross-Border Digital Economy Collaboration","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"humanities-and-social-sciences-communications","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"palcomms","sideBox":"Learn more about [Humanities \u0026 Social Sciences Communications](http://www.nature.com/palcomms/)","snPcode":"41599","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/41599/3","title":"Humanities and Social Sciences Communications","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Nature AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"China-Thailand digital cooperation, enterprise upgrading, double difference, digital divide, competitive neutrality, carbon leakage, technology-biased inequality","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8696636/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8696636/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis study examines the potential public-policy implications of the China\u0026ndash;Thailand Digital Economy Cooperation Agreement for the upgrading of Chinese firms. 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