Research on Path Selection and Policy Synergy of "AI+" Empowering In-depth Integration of Digital and Real Economy

Abstract

This paper examines how China's "AI+" agenda can move digital-real integration beyond the adoption of digital tools and into the reorganization of production, factor allocation, and industrial governance. The analysis is situated within the "AI+" Action, the effort to cultivate new quality productive forces, and the market-oriented reform of data factors. Drawing on digital economy, industrial convergence, innovation ecosystem, and multi-governance theories, it traces four channels of AI-based industrial change: the productive use of data, iterative algorithmic improvement, computing infrastructure, and deployment in industry-specific scenarios. It then links six current obstacles, ranging from an uneven supply of industrial AI and weak adoption among SMEs to blocked data circulation, fragmented policies, and delayed risk governance, to four routes for implementation: better infrastructure, industry-specific adoption, stronger firm-level capabilities, and iterative experimentation in concrete scenarios. The paper's main contribution is a policy framework that coordinates central and local governments, departments, policy instruments, and the balance between development incentives and regulation. Together, these elements connect the mechanism of AI-based change with feasible implementation paths and policy support for new quality productive forces.