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The smart economy, as a new driver of growth, has promoted the development and transformation of Chinese industries and driven the industrial economy into a higher level of development.

This new kind of economy, which features cloud computing, big data, the Internet of Things and AI, has begun large-scale research and development in areas such as intelligent equipment and the smart home, according to a report released by the think tank CCID.

It is gradually being applied to industrial production, consumer services, and other fields, among which intelligent manufacturing, self-driving and the implementation of the "smart city" are the most important application scenarios, said the report.

Take self-driving technology as an example. As of September this year, at least 21 cities across the country had constructed 24 intelligent networked car test demonstration zones, mainly in cities with developed automotive industries.

China's tech giant Baidu has already launched a self-driving Robo-taxi service for the general public in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan province, involving an initial fleet of 45 autonomous cars.

The intelligent economy has promoted China's independent research and development of high-end technologies, helping various industries to reduce costs and increase efficiency.