Over recent decades, the application of artificial intelligence methods in manufacturing has led to new spheres of research such as the Internet of Things, Cyber–Physical Systems, and Cloud Computing and Big Data, leading to the so-called Industry 4.0. However, to date, little research has been geared towards assessing the factors that influence intelligent manufacturing on a regional scale. Addressing this problem, this paper constructs an evaluation index system for the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) intelligent manufacturing sector using eleven years (2008–2018) of provincial panel data. The entropy method is applied to three evaluation criteria, namely intelligent innovation, equipment, and profit, to construct an evaluation index system. An analysis of the results revealed that the level intelligentization of the manufacturing industry of the YREB increases yearly, and that intelligent innovations are notably occurring at a faster rate than profits. Disproportional enterprise returns on investment have occurred, which decreases enterprise motivation to be innovative in the first place. Additionally, it was also observed that FDI, financial development, government intervention, and the level of opening-up were the primary factors modulating regional intelligent manufacturing levels.
The Evaluation Index System of Innovation-Driven Capability of Chinese Manufacturing Industry Based on Factor Analysis