Abstract: As a vital mechanism for interregional trade, government cross-regional procurement plays a significant role in establishing a unified national market. However, limited research has explored how market competition environments influence this practice. Utilizing Chinese government procurement order data from 2015 to 2022, this study examines the impact of market competition fairness on cross-regional procurement through dual lenses of inter-provincial and intra-regional municipal transactions. The findings reveal that fair market competition significantly promotes inter-provincial procurement but shows no substantial effect on intra-provincial cross-city procurement. These conclusions remain robust after addressing endogeneity concerns. Further analysis demonstrates that local governments’ environmental objectives and economic growth target constraints weaken the positive correlation between market competition fairness and inter-provincial procurement. This research not only provides novel theoretical insights into government cross-regional trading behaviors but also elucidates the implementation pathways for breaking administrative barriers and refining competition policies to facilitate interregional trade liberalization and domestic market integration. The study offers critical implications for advancing factor marketization reforms in the new era.

Key words: government cross-regional procurement, fair market competition, economic growth target constraints, environmental target constraints