The inherent abundance of coal, scarcity of oil, and limited availability of gas in China's energy resources dictate the predominant role of coal in the country's energy landscape, which has consistently propelled the expansion in both scale and intensity of coal resource development and utilization, significantly influencing the trajectory of regional social and economic development during the later stages of industrialization. However, the non-renewable and limited nature of coal resources, coupled with their decreasing availability, presents coal resource-based cities with growing challenges to sustainable development. Hence, these cities must engage in coal resource utilization for industrial restructuring, concurrently fostering innovation, nurturing strengths, and cultivating new quality productivity, thereby leveraging emerging industrial advantages for sustainable development as coal resources diminish. Drawing on the characteristics of coal resource-based cities and adhering to productivity development laws, this study comprehensively analyzes their development. It explores conditions for new quality productivity formation, constructs an indicator system, evaluates potential levels across life cycle stages, analyzes formation mechanisms in line with these cities, proposes safeguard mechanisms, and promotes sustainable development.

Qualitatively New Productivity, Resource-based cities, Potential