Intelligent manufacturing has become a key direction for the transformation and upgrading of the global manufacturing sector. China’s economy is currently at a critical stage of transformation and upgrading. From an international perspective, China remains in the second tier of intelligent manufacturing development, with a considerable gap between itself and first-tier countries, namely the United States, Japan, and Germany. It is therefore imperative to advance intelligent manufacturing to seize the commanding heights of technological innovation. From a theoretical perspective, as a strategic cornerstone in the construction of Digital China, digital infrastructure exhibits features and advantages such as network externalities and embedded digital technology attributes. It constitutes a fundamental condition for realizing the value of data as a factor of production and facilitates the diffusion and application of advanced adaptive technologies, thereby potentially exerting a profound influence on the development of intelligent manufacturing. However, existing literature lacks a dedicated examination of the impact of digital infrastructure on intelligent manufacturing, and its potential effects have received limited attention.
This paper provides a theoretical analysis of the impact of digital infrastructure on intelligent manufacturing in China, its underlying mechanisms, and the role of key links in the data market in this process. Using panel data on Chinese listed companies from 2005 to 2021, the two-way fixed-effects model is employed for empirical testing. The results indicate that digital infrastructure development significantly promotes the development of intelligent manufacturing, and this finding remains robust across multiple robustness checks. The effect operates primarily through two channels: the value realization of data elements and the innovation and application of intelligent technologies. The development of key links in the data market, including data openness and data trading, affects the effectiveness of this impact. Specifically, greater data openness strengthens the positive effect of digital infrastructure on intelligent manufacturing, whereas the role of data trading is not statistically significant. Further analysis shows that data openness enhances both the value realization mechanism of data elements and the intelligent technology innovation and application mechanism, while data trading does not significantly reinforce these channels. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the positive effect of digital infrastructure is more pronounced in cities with higher levels of data security and stronger capital endowments, as well as in industries with lower technological complexity. In contrast, no significant differences are observed across industries with varying levels of market competition.
The marginal contributions of this study are threefold. First, it offers a systematic examination of the relationship between digital infrastructure and intelligent manufacturing within the framework of industrial structure theory, thereby extending the literature on infrastructure and industrial upgrading and providing empirical evidence for the development of intelligent manufacturing. Second, from the perspective of factor allocation, it identifies and empirically tests the mechanisms through which digital infrastructure promotes intelligent manufacturing—namely, the value realization of data elements and intelligent technology innovation and application—thereby deepening the understanding of the underlying transmission channels through which digital infrastructure affects intelligent manufacturing. Third, by incorporating the fact that key links in the data market, such as data openness and data trading, evolve during the development of digital infrastructure, this study examines how these links shape the effectiveness of digital infrastructure in promoting intelligent manufacturing. It further explores heterogeneity across both urban and industrial dimensions, enriching the existing literature on infrastructure and industrial upgrading and offering more targeted policy implications.
Overall, the findings confirm the significant role of digital infrastructure in promoting intelligent manufacturing and provide useful insights for strengthening digital infrastructure development and advancing intelligent manufacturing in China.
WangH, YanZ Y, GuoG Y, et al. Digital infrastructure policy and digital transformation of enterprises: “empowerment” or “negative energy”? [J]. Journal of Quantitative & Technological Economics,2023,40(5):5-23.
[4]
MusalekarD, Patalas-MaliszewskaJ. Modelling smart machining process towards intelligent manufacturing: a case study[J]. IFAC-PapersOnline,2024,58(19):784-788.
[5]
GumbiL, TwinomurinziH. SMME readiness framework for smart manufacturing adoption using critical realism: knowledge and construction phase[J].Journal of Innovation & Knowledge,2025,10(2):100665.
XiaoJ H, WuX L, XieK,et al. IT-driven transformation of Chinese manufacturing: a longitudinal case study on leap-forward strategic change of midea intelligent manufacturing[J]. Journal of Management World,2021,37(3):161-179.
ChenY B, LiH, LinX L. Employment protection and intelligent manufacturing: evidence from imports of robots[J]. Journal of Quantitative & Technological Economics,2023,40(6):133-152.
YuM G, HeM M, ZhangM M. Talent introduction policies, optimal labor allocation and manufacturing intelligence[J]. China Industrial Economics,2024,42(5):116-134.
HeY M, ZhaoX H. Does the new digital infrastructure contribute to the upgrading of industrial structure: evidence from 272 cities in China[J].Science & Technology Progress and Policy,2021,38(17):79-86.
YuanH, XiaJ C. Research on the impact of digital infrastructure construction on the upgrading of China’s service industry structure[J]. Economic Review Journal,2022,38(6):85-95.
[18]
WuW Q, WangS Q, JiangX, et al. Regional digital infrastructure, enterprise digital transformation and entrepreneurial orientation: empirical evidence based on the broadband China strategy[J]. Information Processing & Management,2023,60(5):103419.
[19]
LiM, WangZ Q, ShuL H, et al. Broadband infrastructure and enterprise digital transformation: evidence from China[J].Research in International Business and Finance,2025,73(PB):102645.
ChengG B, LiY, ZhaoC. Information infrastructure construction and enterprise intelligent manufacturing: evidence from the “broadband China” policy[J]. Reform of Economic System,2024,42(2):193-200.
[22]
RauchJ E, TrindadeV. Ethnic Chinese networks in international trade[J].The Review of Economics and Statistics, 2002,84(1):116-130.
[23]
史丹.数字经济条件下产业发展趋势的演变[J].中国工业经济,2022,40(11):26-42.
[24]
ShiD. Evolution of industrial development trend under digital economy[J]. China Industrial Economics,2022,40(11):26-42.
GanC H, ZhengR G, YuD F. An empirical study on the effects of industrial structure on economic growth and fluctuations in China[J]. Economic Research Journal,2011,46(5):4-16.
[30]
CongL W, XieD X, ZhangL T. Knowledge accumulation, privacy, and growth in a data economy[J].Management Science,2021,67(10):6480-6492.
XiaoX, YangS Q. Intelligent manufacturing empowers new quality productive forces: logical mechanism and practical direction[J].Journal of Hunan University of Science and Technology(Social Science Edition),2024,27(6):85-91.
ZhouJ Q, ChenD, XiaN X. Green development effects of artificial intelligence: technological empowerment and structural optimization[J]. Modern Economic Science,2023,45(5):30-45.
[35]
BartikT J. Who benefits from state and local economic development policies?[M]. Kalamazoo:Upjohn Institute for Employment Research,1991:282-287.
[36]
AcemogluD, RestrepoP. Robots and jobs: evidence from US labor markets[J].Journal of Political Economy,2020,128(6):2188-2244.
ShenK R, LinJ W, FuY H. Network infrastructure construction, information accessibility and the innovation boundaries of enterprises[J]. China Industrial Economics,2023,41(1):57-75.
WangY Y, ZhangH R. Comparative analysis on the G20 countries intelligent manufacturing development level[J]. Journal of Quantitative & Technological Economics,2020,37(9):3-23.
WangY Q, DongW. How the rise of robots has affected China’s labor market: evidence from China’s listed manufacturing firms[J]. Economic Research Journal,2020,55(10):159-175.
YangQ C, YuD F. Research on the impact of digital infrastructure construction on Baumol’s cost disease in the service industry: empirical evidence from Chinese cities[J]. Modern Economic Science,2024,46(5):32-46.