## 2 Materials and Methods
### Comprehensive Evaluation of DE and GD  
#### 2.2.1 Evaluation Index System  
To assess the levels of DE and GD, evaluation systems were developed. A consensus on the evaluation metrics for the DE and GD has not yet been reached in the academic community. The development of the DE is primarily driven by digital industrialization and the digitalization of industries. Its infrastructure is considered as a crucial factor in advancing green economic development [45]. Drawing on the three dimensions, the evaluation index system for the DE was developed with reference to the localized DE indicators proposed by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) and related academic research [46; 47]. Regarding GD, this paper combined the \"three circles model\" proposed by [PERSON] and [PERSON], which emphasizes the interactions among economic, natural, and social systems [48], with other academic studies [49; 50] to construct the GD evaluation index system. Given the data availability over the study period, along with robust measurement principles, panel data of a total of 21 basic variables were selected to assess the level of DE and GD from 2013 to 2021. These indicators are described in Table 1. The original values for the evaluation variables were primarily derived from the 'China Statistical Yearbook', 'China Environmental Statistics Yearbook', 'China Energy Statistics Yearbook' as well as provincial and municipal statistical yearbooks and relevant department bulletins. The digital inclusive financial index was obtained from the Digital Finance Research Center of Peking University.  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline
**Purpose** & **First-Grade Index** & **Basic Index** & **Indicator** \\  & & & **Attribute** \\ \hline \multirow{8}{*}{DE level} & \multirow{4}{*}{Infrastructure} & Length of long distance optical cable lines (\(10^{4}\) kilometers) & + \\  & & Internet broadband access port (\(10^{4}\) units) & + \\  & & Mobile telephone exchange capacity (\(10^{4}\) households) & + \\  & & Number of Internet CN domain names (\(10^{4}\) units) & + \\ \cline{2-3}  & \multirow{4}{*}{Digital Industrialization} & Employed in information transmission, software, and information technology services & + \\  & & (\(10^{4}\) people) & + \\  & & Total telecommunication services per capita (yuan/people) & + \\  & & Revenue from software operations (\(10^{2}\) million RMB) & + \\ \cline{2-3}  & Digital Vision of & Number of listed companies in e-commerce business (single) & + \\  & Traditional Industries & Enterprise e-commerce sales (\(10^{2}\) million RMB) & + \\  & & Digital inclusive finance index (\%) & + \\ \hline \multirow{8}{*}{GD level} & \multirow{4}{*}{Green Manufacturing} & Industrial water consumption per unit of GDP (\(10^{4}\) tons/\(10^{2}\) million RMB) & \(-\) \\  & & Industrial SO\({}_{2}\) emissions per unit of GDP (ton/\(10^{2}\) million RMB) & \(-\) \\ \cline{1-1}  & & Comprehensive utilization rate of industrial solid waste (\%) & + \\ \cline{1-1}  & & Energy consumption per unit of GDP (\(10\) thousand tons of standard coal/\(10^{4}\) RMB) & \(-\) \\ \cline{1-1} \cline{2-3}  & \multirow{4}{*}{Green Living} & Harmless treatment rate of domestic waste (\%) & + \\ \cline{1-1}  & & Domestic water consumption (\(10^{2}\) million cubic meters) & \(-\) \\ \cline{1-1}  & & Number of urban buses operated (classifier for wheeled vehicles) & + \\ \cline{1-1} \cline{2-3}  & \multirow{4}{*}{Green Eco-Systems} & Rate of forest cover (\%) & + \\ \cline{1-1}  & & Green Eco-Systems & Greening coverage in built-up areas (\%) & + \\ \cline{1-1}  & & Wetland area (thousand hectares) & + \\ \cline{1-1}  & & Water resources possession (\(10^{2}\) million cubic meters) & + \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular} Note: + represents a positive indicator, \(-\) represents a negative indicator.  
\end{table}
Table 1: Evaluation index system of the DE and GD.