Digital finance development in China: A scientometric review

The continuous integration of digital technology and finance has spurred the rapid development of the digital finance industry, making it a critical area of interest for scholars. This study combines quantitative research methods using Citespace software for scientometric analysis and qualitative research methods involving manual selection and content analysis of key literature to summarise the research status, hot topics, and frontiers in the field of digital finance in China. The research findings highlight several influential factors in the digital finance literature, such as regional and journal distribution, institutional and author collaboration, and highly cited literature. Currently, the four most important and cutting-edge research areas are digital currency, digital inclusive finance, fintech and blockchain technology. Furthermore, an analysis of the development trends in digital finance research is conducted and future research perspectives are suggested. © 2024 The Authors