The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China proposed to expand the international economic cycle and advance reform and development through opening up. Against the backdrop of the digital economy, it is imperative to empower the internationalization development of small and medium-sized enterprises via digitalization. As the "pace-setters" among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), specialized and sophisticated SMEs are regarded as the backbone of Chinese enterprises' participation in international competition. Nevertheless, existing studies have not fully answered how digital transformation affects the internationalization of specialized and sophisticated SMEs and what lies behind its internal influencing mechanism. Using data from 1315 listed Chinese specialized and sophisticated SMEs spanning 2011 to 2023, this thesis conducts empirical analysis and verification on the above issues. The research findings are as follows. The impact of digital transformation on the internationalization degree of specialized and sophisticated SMEs presents obvious phased characteristics. In the short term, it shows a negative impact. However, with the continuous advancement of digital transformation, this impact gradually turns positive. The root cause of this phased characteristic lies in changes in the enterprises' debt structure. Specifically, in the short term, the increased capital investment in digital transformation leads to higher debt pressure, which crowds out investment in internationalization. In the long run, however, the marginal input of digital transformation decreases, and it improves access to financing. This helps enterprises activate cash flow and provides effective support for their international development. Additionally, the overseas background of enterprise executives plays an effective positive moderating role in this mechanism. Specialized and sophisticated SMEs with different attributes show significant differences. Among them, state-owned enterprises and those located in eastern China see a more prominent long-term driving effect of digital transformation on their internationalization degree.