The development imbalance between the eastern and western parts of China is a structural and systematic issue that has long impeded the socio-economic development of the country. Within the context of fostering a national ecological civilization and advancing the rural revitalization strategy,the construction of the Mid-Spine Belt of Beautiful China (MSBBC) emerges as a strategic initiative to mitigate this east-west development gap,bearing a significant practical relevance. The southwest section of the MSBBC is an important development area for the country's western development strategy and the "Belt and Road" initiative. However,the contradiction between the region's limited natural and social carrying capacity and the economic dividends brought by policies severely hinders the development of the southwest section,underscoring the urgent need to explore sustainable development pathways for this area. Using the Coupling Coordination Degree Model (CCDM),this study discusses the coordinated development of the economy,society,and environment,as well as the spatial aggregation characteristics,of 245 counties in the southwest section of the MSBBC from 2010 to 2019. The results show that the overall coordinated development trend of the southwest section of the MSBBC is positive,yet regional development imbalances are very prominent. Hotspot areas are mainly concentrated in the northeastern part centered around the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration,where the coordination of the three subsystems' development is notable. Conversely,cold spots are predominantly distributed in ethnic minority-inhabited areas in the southwest,with the economic and social systems of most counties lagging behind environmental development. Additionally,the study identifies certain correlations between different administrative divisions,ecological backgrounds,economic development statuses,and levels of coordinated development.
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