An Empirical Study on the Impact of Language Service Industry Development on High-Quality Economic Growth in the Sichuan-Chongqing Region

Abstract

The construction of the Sichuan-Chongqing Economic Circle is a major national strategy to promote high-quality development in Western China. Based on panel data from 19 cities in the Sichuan and Chongqing region covering the years 2005 to 2022, this study employs a two-way fixed effects model to systematically examine the impact and underlying mechanisms of the language service industry on high-quality economic development in the region. The findings show that the development of the language service industry significantly promotes high-quality growth, particularly in the dimensions of openness, innovation, sharing, and coordination. Its effect is mainly realized through expanding foreign trade and attracting international talent. However, the industry’s driving force is significantly stronger in the core areas of Chengdu and Chongqing than in the peripheral cities, showing a pattern of “core polarization–peripheral collapse” and indicating regional development imbalance. Based on these findings, the paper proposes building collaborative platforms that integrate industry, academia, research, and application; promoting gradient development of language service industry clusters; establishing a green language technology standards system; and improving the training mechanisms for interdisciplinary talents. These measures aim to drive high-quality development of the language service industry in the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle, resolve regional coordination bottlenecks, balance ecological protection goals, and achieve sustainable industrial upgrading.