Top 100 ranking of S&T Clusters based on their science and technology productivity. (PHOTO: GII)

Edited by QI Liming

All of the world’s five biggest Science and Technology(S&T) Clusters are now located in East Asia, and three Chinese S&T Clusters, namely Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou (China and Hong Kong, China), China’s Beijing and Shanghai-Suzhou clusters have made the top five in a global innovation index, according to the 2023 edition of WIPO(World Intellectual Property Organization)’s Global Innovation Index (GII).

In addition to the top five ranking, for the first time, in 2023, China, homes to 24 S&T Clusters, is the economy that has the most clusters ranked among the top 100, overtaking the U.S. with 21 clusters unchanged on the year, according to GII.

Top three S&T Clusters in China

According to Verdict website, Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou: Coming in second is Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou. Shenzhen is a Chinese Special Economic zone and technology hub, known as China’s Silicon Valley while the neighbouring Hong Kong is known as Silicon Harbour.

Beijing: The number of state-owned enterprises headquartered in Beijing saw the capital city place 54 companies on the Fortune Global 500 in 2022, accounting for 37percent of all Chinese-headquartered companies on the list.

According to British Times Higher Education newspaper, with China emerging as the country with the greatest number of clusters, the GII report also said that with a population estimated at almost 20 million, Beijing ranks 14th by S&T intensity. Apart from Beijing, there is no other S&T Cluster located in China or any other middle-income economy that ranks among the top 25 most intensive clusters globally.

Shanghai-Suzhou: Shanghai, a global center for finance and an innovation technology hub, boasts the world’s busiest container port. As of 2018, the Greater Shanghai area was estimated to produce a gross metropolitan product of nearly 1.33 trillion USD.

WIPO witnessed China’s S&T contribution

According to European Commission, GII ranks countries and economies based on their innovative capacity each year. In a preliminary release before the official launch on September 27, 2023, the GII 2023 S&T Clusters Chapter identifies local areas with significant concentrations of world-leading science and technology activity.

WIPO Director General Daren Tang said that, “Science and Technology Clusters are among the most-critical components for the innovation performance of any economy. By bringing science, businesses and entrepreneurs together, these cities or regions are able to build an ecosystem that translates scientific ideas into on-the-ground impact. It is also heartening to see that these S&T Clusters are growing at a particularly fast pace in emerging economies.”

Daren Tang acknowledged China’s immense contribution to international intellectual property work. In his view, China has accomplished a major milestone, transforming itself into a global epicenter of creativity, technology, and innovation.

Innovation hubs outnumber those in the U.S.

According to Science magazine, China now leads in a top 100 ranking of metropolitan areas based on their science and technology productivity.

This year, the GII identifies 24 S&T Clusters in China, up from the 21 last year, as the country boasting the greatest number of clusters, with Shenzhen–Hong Kong–Guangzhou, Beijing Shanghai–Suzhou, and Shenzhen–Hong Kong–Guangzhou and Nanjing leading.

“Vibrant local clusters are critical hubs of national competitiveness,” and the new ranking suggests the U.S. has been slipping, said Mark Muro, a regional innovation specialist at the Brookings Institution.

The highest climbers in the ranking are three clusters in China, namely, Zhenjiang (+15 positions), Hefei (+13) and Wuxi (+13), said the GII report.