Abstract: Based on panel data from 31 provinces in China from 2011 to 2022, fixed-effects models, mediating effect models, and threshold effect models were employed to systematically examine the impact of new quality productive forces on digital rural construction and its underlying mechanism. The results indicated that new quality productive forces had a significant positive effect on digital rural construction. Agricultural sci-tech innovation was found to play a partial mediating role in this process, and this impact exhibited a dual threshold effect based on the level of agricultural sci-tech innovation. As the level of agricultural sci-tech innovation increased, the promoting effect of new quality productive forces on digital rural construction showed a characteristic of "diminishing marginal effects." From the perspective of regional heterogeneity, the promoting effect followed the pattern of central region > western region > eastern region. When regions were divided by the level of digital rural construction, the promoting effect was significantly greater in high-level regions than in low-level regions. Based on these findings, it was recommended to continuously enhance the development of new quality productive forces, strengthen the driving role of agricultural sci-tech innovation, promote technology empowerment according to local conditions, stimulate the vitality of digital rural construction, and facilitate its digital transformation and high-quality development.

Key words: digital rural construction, new quality productive forces, agricultural sci-tech innovation, mediating effect, threshold effect