The sharing economy is a relatively recent phenomenon that aims to promote environmentally friendly practices. The sharing economy is characterized by the convergence of information, marketing and technology to create a new paradigm in which customers value access above ownership, allowing them to make better use of resources. It provides a modern business strategy that can pave the way for energy efficiency and sustainable economic development. However, the economic and environmental effects of the sharing economy are debatable and require more research. Indeed, the sharing economy has upended the current economic standard, raising concerns about the benefits and disadvantages of the new behaviour. Therefore, the present study fills a gap in the literature by quantitatively assessing the possible impacts of the sharing economy on sustainable economic development and energy efficiency in China over the period 2000 to 2019. Recently introduced QARDL estimation methodology is applied to achieve the objective, controlling for population growth, unemployment, energy prices, and inflation. The sharing economy is shown to make a positive contribution to promoting sustainable development across all quantile ranges, while it contributes to enhanced energy efficiency at higher quantiles only. According to the findings, the sharing economy turns out to be a socioeconomic phenomenon with the potential to promote energy efficiency and sustainable development. Therefore, we emphasize the potential of the sharing economy and recommend the Chinese promote sharing economy models to reach their full potential for sustainable development in energy efficiency and economic terms by enacting suitable taxation and legislation policies.