From the economic development experience of other countries in the world, it can be seen that the service-oriented stage is a differentiation stage for whether growth can be sustained and whether economic catch-up can be successful. To successfully overcome the middle-income trap and ensure the sustainability of economic growth, it is necessary to apply the theory of new quality productivity to practice, and then promote the development of China's service industry towards high-quality direction, that is, the new quality of service industry. The new quality of the service industry is a high-quality service economic form, characterized by endogenous knowledge production, which reshapes the efficiency model through the optimization of the service industry structure and the dynamic balance mechanism between supply and demand. With the transformation of the new generation of information technology, digital technology innovation has undoubtedly become the most important new quality productivity during the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and is a strategic highland for major economies around the world to compete for layout. So, can and how can digital technology innovation promote the high-quality development of the service industry? This is the core question that this article intends to answer.

The article elaborates on the theoretical mechanism based on the logic of "elements to products and then to industries". Among them, the element level emphasizes that knowledge becomes the core driving force of economic growth; At the product level, there is a service upgrade from standardization to personalization; At the industrial level, it is manifested as the rise of knowledge intensive service industries. Subsequently, the article constructed an evaluation index system for the new quality development level of the service industry, which includes 5 core dimensions, 14 primary indicators, and 23 secondary indicators. The analysis pointed out that the new quality development of China's service industry presents characteristics of overall low-level slow rise, significant stage heterogeneity, uneven development of each core dimension, and regional development polarization. Finally, the article conducted empirical tests using panel data from 30 provinces in China from 2011 to 2023, and found that digital technology innovation can significantly promote the high-quality development of the service industry. This conclusion still holds true after a series of robustness tests. Mechanism testing shows that upgrading supply side factors, driving demand side momentum, and ensuring institutional environment constitute a triple empowerment path, which can more fully unleash the empowering potential of digital technology innovation for the new quality development of the service industry.

The article studies the application of the theory of new quality productivity to the practice of service economy development, providing theoretical support and policy inspiration for China to seize opportunities for digital technology innovation and promote high-quality economic development. Firstly, it is necessary to establish a "dimensional regional" dual balanced governance system to solve the dilemma of uneven development of core dimensions of service quality and significant regional differences. Secondly, both supply and demand sides should work together to build a collaborative innovation ecosystem for digital and service industries, and strengthen the empowerment efficiency of the digital economy. Thirdly, innovate the linkage mechanism between social security and market incentives, and unleash the multiplier effect of institutional environment.