Understanding the Coupling Coordination Between the Digital Economy and High-Quality Development in Henan, China

China is advancing its economic agenda by shifting from a resource and energy-intensive framework to one centered on digitalization and innovation, highlighting the digital economy as a cornerstone for sustainable, high-quality development. The coordinated development of the digital economy with high-quality development strategies is pivotal for achieving balanced regional growth. This analysis delves into these dynamics within Henan Province, utilizing sophisticated analytical tools such as the Entropy entropy-weighted topics method, Coupled Coordination Model, Dagum Gini coefficient, and panel Tobit regression to evaluate the spatial-temporal interplay and disparities in development, along with identifying critical determinants. The results indicate a nuanced landscape of coordination between the digital economy and high-quality development across Henan. The province exhibits a pattern of strong coupling but only moderate coordination, with distinct regional variations. Development is more pronounced in the western and northern regions compared to their eastern and southern counterparts, with Zhengzhou, emerging as a strategic center from which development radiates outward, progressively lessening from west to east and from north to south. Furthermore, while initial disparities between cities were relatively small, they have widened over time, with the most significant differences manifesting between various city groups. This divergence follows a distinct pattern, most markedly from west to north to south to east. Additionally, the study identifies that while the degree of digitalization positively correlates with enhanced coordination, factors such as economic robustness, government fiscal policies, and innovation capacity appear to impede it. Based on these findings, the study concludes with targeted strategic recommendations for policymakers. These recommendations aim to mitigate the development disparities and foster an integrated advancement of both the urban digital economy and high-quality economic growth across Henan Province.