Abstract: The consensus has been reached on the leading role of the development of high-tech industries on the optimization and upgrading of industry. However, is the total output of high-tech industries or the quality of R&D innovations more conducive to the industrial upgrading? Based on the provincial data of China, a panel regression model is used to conduct empirical analysis. The research results show that compared with the total amount of growth, the improvement in quality brought by high-tech industrial innovation can promote the optimization and upgrading of industry in all directions, including total factor productivity, export technology, labor productivity, capital return, efficiency of energy utilization and environmental efficiency. Therefore, when actively developing the scale of high-tech industries, we should pay more attention to increasing investment in high-tech industrial innovation, attach importance to the introduction and training of R&D talents, and encourage high-tech industrial innovation output, especially independent innovation with high technological content.

Key words: high-tech industries, industrial upgrading, total growth, investment in innovation, innovation output