Artificial intelligence and the high-quality development of China’s marine economy: evidence from coastal provinces

Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the paradigm of marine industrial development during the strategic window of accelerated digital transformation in the global marine economy. In order to investigate the effects of AI on China’s marine economic performance, this study builds a bidirectional assessment system that incorporates AI and the high-quality development of the marine economy using panel data encompassing coastal Chinese provinces and municipalities from 2011 to 2022. Results of the study suggest that AI greatly raises China’s marine economy’s degree of high-quality development. The Bohai Rim, the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone, and economically developed areas all benefit more from AI, according to heterogeneity testing. Further threshold analysis reveals a significant nonlinear relationship between AI and the marine economy, constrained by a single threshold effect of fiscal expenditure. This study offers a fresh viewpoint on the complex relationship between AI and the marine sector and offers policy implications for precise fiscal regulation during intelligent transformation in coastal regions.