By LI Linxu

China is edging closer to top 10 on global list of most innovative economies.

The country climbs two places from last year to 12th, with outstanding scores in hi-tech exports, patents, trademarks and industrial designs, according to Global Innovation Index 2021, released by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) on September 20.

The 2021 edition of the index presents the latest global innovation ranking of 132 economies, relying on 81 different indicators.

"This year's index shows us that in spite of the massive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on lives and livelihoods, many sectors have shown remarkable resilience, especially those that have embraced digitalization, technology and innovation," said WIPO Director General Daren Tang.

PHOTO:VCG

In its annual ranking of the world's economies on innovation capacity, the index shows that only a few economies, mostly high income, consistently dominate the ranks.

However, selected middle income economies, including China, Turkey, Vietnam and India, are catching up and changing the innovation landscape.

"These emerging economies have been able to successfully complement their domestic innovation with international technology transfer, develop technologically dynamic services that can be traded internationally, and ultimately have shaped more balanced innovation systems," said Soumitra Dutta, former Dean and Professor of Management at Cornell University.

Since 2013, China has moved steadily up the index ranking, establishing itself as a global innovation leader.

Relative to GDP, China's performance is well above expectations for its level of development, and also performs well above the upper middle-income group average in the index.

It ranks 1st among the 34 upper middle-income group economies.

The performance of China is at the frontier of achievement, notably in innovation outputs. The country boasts 19 of the top science and technology clusters worldwide, with Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou and Beijing in the 2nd and 3rd spots, respectively.