Abstract: Accelerating the construction of a new development paradigm and striving for high-quality development are important tasks for China at present and in the future. Based on the new development concept, this paper constructs a high-quality development evaluation system, examines the spatial network of high-quality development using the modified gravity model and social network analysis, analyses its internal correlation mechanism, and reveals the influence of spatial correlation network on high-quality development. The study shows that: (1) The network density of spatial correlation of China’s high-quality development fluctuates and increases during the sample period, and the effect of spatial correlation is increasing. Eastern provinces, namely Shanghai, Beijing, and Jiangsu, hold a prominent position and exert a significant impact in the spatial correlation network of high-quality development. On the other hand, western and central provinces, including Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, and Anhui, have a marginal role in the network with low degrees of centrality. (2) Concerning the spatial correlation mechanism, the spatial correlation of the four dimensions of “innovation,” “green,” “openness,” and “sharing” serves as the primary driving force for high-quality development’s spatial correlation. The driving role of “innovation” and “coordination” has substantially increased after embarking on the new developmental stage, adding significance to the spatial correlation of the five dimensions. (3) The network structure of spatial correlation has a significant role on promoting high-quality development and reducing regional disparities. On the one hand, boosting the correlation between provinces for high-quality development and elevating the standing of individual provinces within the network can aid in such development. On the other hand, regional disparities in quality development can be reduced by improving the spatial correlation of quality development and making full use of the “bridge” function of provinces within the association network. By promoting the new “double-cycle” development pattern, the linkage network will be able to better play its positive role in high-quality development.

Key words: new development paradigm, high-quality development, spatial correlation, network effect