City innovation boom enhances tech prowess

The rising scale and capacity of China's leading cities have cemented the country's position as a major global innovation powerhouse, according to a recent report.

Twenty Chinese cities have landed spots on the world's top 100 most innovative cities list this year, according to a report released by East China Normal University (ECNU) on Sunday — marking the fourth year in a row the university has published this annual innovative city ranking report.

With improving capabilities in gathering innovation resources and the formation of a more innovation-supportive environment, Beijing has overtaken London this year to take the third position for the first time, only next to the San Francisco Bay Area and New York in the United States. Shanghai ranked in 10th place for the fourth consecutive year.

Shenzhen, Guangdong province; Hangzhou, Zhejiang province; and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region are among the top 30 cities with higher levels of innovation. Under closer scrutiny, Shenzhen ranked seventh as a global source of technology innovation, advancing one place from that of last year and overtaking Boston. This reflects Shenzhen's strength in attracting industry leaders and generating outcomes in frontier technologies, according to the report.

It should be noted that Beijing has dislodged all the other surveyed cities for the third consecutive year in terms of leadership in scientific research. Shanghai remained sixth for this gauge. This highlights the systematic improvement in China's research capabilities, according to experts from ECNU.

Meanwhile, Beijing ranked second worldwide, only next to the San Francisco Bay Area, as the home for innovative companies, which are the major contributors to the formation of innovation hubs. Beijing now accommodates 10 of the world's top 100 companies in terms of research and development capabilities, doubling the number in 2024. Beyond that, it is home to five of the world's most innovative companies including Xiaomi and ByteDance.

Beijing-based technology companies will see their combined export value reaching 2.67 trillion euros ($3.13 trillion) this year, overtaking their peers in the rest of the world. The city is also home to 14 world-leading frontier technology companies specializing in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and bio-manufacturing, with their combined sales revenue expected to reach 395.5 billion euros in 2025.

The US and China have over half of the world's unicorn companies, with the respective numbers reaching 463 and 293 this year under ECNU's calculation. It is worth noting that the Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Guangzhou have built competitive innovation clusters, while only two US cities have built such strength, according to the report.

Du Debin, head of ECNU's institute for global innovation studies, said technology breakthroughs have been achieved among emerging industrial clusters at a faster pace amid the rapidly changing global landscape. The construction of world-influential innovation centers is crucial for a country to take the initiative, secure industrial security and improve its global competitiveness, he said.

"The competition between China and the US has been extended to basic research, the allocation of market resources, the cultivation of industry drivers and the construction of a friendly business environment. China has been showing greater competitive edge in terms of the scale of technology innovation and the upward momentum in catching up with industry leaders," said Du.

According to the recommendations for formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) released in late October, efforts should be made to complete the regional innovation mechanism. Regional technology innovation centers and industrial hubs should be established.