China's indices tracking the operating vitality of startups and innovation-driven tech firms have risen in the first quarter of this year as the artificial intelligence (AI) sector sees a rapid concentration of innovation resources, emerging as a key driver of cultivating new quality productive forces.

Data from the State Information Center, a public institution affiliated with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), showed that in the first quarter, indices tracking these startups and tech firms have grown 8.8 percent and 8.1 percent year on year, respectively.

Patent data indicated robust momentum in AI innovation. In the first quarter, the number of authorized patents related to China's strategic emerging industries rose 8.7 percent year on year, accelerating to an 18.4-percent increase in March from a year earlier. Among them, AI-related patent grants surged 31.2 percent year on year in the first quarter and climbed 39.8 percent from a year earlier in March, highlighting sustained growth in innovation activity.