Abstract: Focusing on the evolution of China' digital economy under major national strategies, this study adopts the method proposed by BEA(2018) to measure the provincial digital economy scale, examines regional disparities and dynamic evolution in its growth, and identifies the driving factors of digital economy development. The results show that between 2011 and 2018, China's digital economy expanded rapidly, with the production end contributing the most to digital value added. Significant regional disparities are observed, and inter-regional differences among the eight comprehensive economic zones constitute the primary source of the overall gap. Furthermore, both national and intra-regional disparities in digital economy development are evident and exhibit a gradient pattern decreasing from east to west. The digital economy demonstrates strong stability and path dependence, and spatial factors play an important role in state transitions. In terms of driving mechanisms, digital economy development is dynamically influenced by multiple factors, with industrial structure being the dominant driver and the synergistic effect of economic development and human capital becoming increasingly important. These findings provide policy implications for promoting the coordinated development of China's regional digital economy.

Key words: digital Economy, eight economic areas, scale measurement, regional differences