Abstract: As both an extension of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in the digital domain and a digital bridge for the new globalization, the Digital Silk Road holds significant implications for exploring new paradigms of international cooperation in the digital economy era. Based on this premise, this study employs the symbiosis theory as an analytical framework and utilizes the annual data from 97 countries along the Belt and Road from 2017 to 2023 to investigate the impact of fintech on the construction of the Digital Silk Road. The findings reveal that fintech has significantly improved the level of construction of the Digital Silk Road, with the impact of fintech business showing a trend of first increasing and then decreasing, while the impact of fintech regulation is not significant. Financial symbiosis, technological symbiosis, and integration symbiosis are important paths for the impact of financial technology on the construction of the Digital Silk Road. Fintech can promote the digital economy development level, network infrastructure construction and globalization development capacity of the countries jointly building the Belt and Road. Therefore, China needs to consolidate its leading position in“the Belt and Road”initiative, and build“the Belt and Road”into a road of capital agglomeration, a road of digital innovation, and an institutional road for China to participate in global rule making by building a financial technology system, encouraging scientific and technological innovation, and innovating the paradigm of digital governance.

Key words: financial technology, digital silk road, digital economy, digital rules, symbiosis theory