Under the background of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, accurately grasping the characteristics of the spatial network structure of the carbon emissions and the carbon balance zoning are of great guiding effect to promote the ecological environment collaborative management and realize the high-quality coordinated development. This article selected panel date encompassing 30 provinces and municipalities in China (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and Tibet) from 2005 to 2021 as samples. It comprehensively employed social network analysis and exploratory spatial data analysis to deeply explore and analyze the characteristics of the spatial network structure of the carbon emissions, and divided the carbon balance zoning. Furthermore, the paper proposed targeted optimization strategies and directions for the various comprehensive divisions. The following key findings were revealed: (1) By the large, the total amount of carbon emissions in China showed an upward trend, but the growth rate of carbon emissions was growing at a relatively slow pace. Notably, it exhibited a spatial pattern of "high in the eastern part of the country, low in the central and western". The total carbon sinks showed a slight growth during the investigation period, showing a spatial distribution characteristic of "high in the central and western part of the country, low in the eastern". The overall carbon balance capacity showed a trend of fluctuation and decrease with obvious spatial differences, and about 43.33% of the provinces in China were in a strong carbon balance capacity situation. (2) During the study period, the overall spatial network structure of the carbon emissions of 30 provinces, municipalities, and regions in China had become more and more closely related, and the structure of carbon emission spatial network showed good accessibility and stability. However, the spatial difference of individual network structure characteristics was significant, and the Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Jiangsu occupied the leading position in the entire spatial correlation network, which plays an important controlling role on the whole carbon emission spatial network. (3) Based on analysis of the carbon balance, the space in the 30 provinces, municipalities, and regions in China had been divided into 6 different carbon balance functional zones. At the same time, 18 key provincial domains were identified and defined. In addition, the differentiated regional low-carbon optimization development directions and strategies were proposed for each type of zoning, in order to promote equitable, efficient and low-carbon transformational development among regions, provide a reference for the realization of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality.