Abstract: As China’s economy shifts from growth driven by scale expansion and factor inputs toward high-quality development that places greater emphasis on innovation and value creation, the intelligent economy is becoming an important force driving the development of new quality productive forces in industry. Starting from the intrinsic relationship between the intelligent economy and these productive forces, this paper examines how artificial intelligence becomes embedded in industrial systems through data representation, algorithmic decision-making, factor recombination, and feedback from application scenarios. It then identifies transformation pathways at three levels: production factors, industrial processes, and industrial ecosystems. Drawing on Shanghai’s recent practices in AI-enabled manufacturing, AI for science, medical data, and embodied intelligence, the paper finds that data, computing power, algorithms, platforms, and interdisciplinary talent provide the foundations for industrial intelligentization. The deep integration of AI into research and design, manufacturing, supply chain operations, and services can enable process reengineering. Enterprise collaboration, the integration of innovation and industrial chains, regional industrial clustering, and trustworthy governance determine whether intelligent capabilities can diffuse at scale. The key therefore lies in sustained coordination and iterative improvement among intelligent factors, industrial processes, and industrial ecosystems.
Keywords: intelligent economy; new quality productive forces; artificial intelligence; industrial intelligentization; digital transformation; industrial ecosystem
Authors: Xu Yao, Qianhao Liu
Source: Yao, X., & Liu, Q. H. (2026). Mechanisms and Pathways through Which the Intelligent Economy Drives the Development of New Quality Productive Forces in Industry. Shanghai Economy, (4), 16-22.
Publication date: 2026/9/14
Original Link: 
智能经济驱动产业新质生产力发展的机制与路径研究_姚旭.pdf
