Network Media Editor Intelligence:
Regional innovation capacity evaluation reflects the importance of geographical development and innovation under common prosperity
China's rustbelt regions (东北老工业基地）are seeking economic restructuring through innovation and regional collaborations
Guangdong province's overall innovation capacity ranks No.1 for 7 consecutive years (China's Greater Bay)
Tianjin's rankings in these two reports below show that educational institution is only one form of knowledge platform. A region (for instance, Guangdong province) can elevate its regional innovation capacity utilizing other knowledge platforms and networks
Yunnan province has been positioned as a hub reaching out to Southeast Asia under China’s One Belt One Road Initiative but it still faces innovation difficulties
On November 25, 2023, “China Regional Innovation Capacity Evaluation Report 2023" was released in Beijing. In 2023, Guangdong ranks first again in China’s regional innovation capacity, for 7 consecutive years. Beijing city and Jiangsu province ranks 2nd and 3rd respectively, Zhejiang province and Shanghai city ranks 4th and 5th respectively, while the top five rankings remain consistent with the previous year’s order. Other regions that entered the top 10 are Shandong, Anhui, Hubei, Hunan and Sichuan (all provinces).
10 regions whose rankings have risen in 2023 include Heilongjiang, Fujian, Guangxi, Hubei, Sichuan, Liaoning, Gansu, Inner Mongolia and Hainan. It is critical to note that, among them, the rankings of the three northeastern provinces have all increased, with Jilin and Heilongjiang rising by 6 and 5 places respectively. These three provinces’ ranking increase reflects the noticeable economic transformation from “rustbelt” region (中国老工业基地) to an innovation enabled regional economy.
Meanwhile, 12 regions have declined in ranking, including Yunnan, which has dropped by 6 places and still faces difficulties in innovation and economic transformation. Yunnan province has been positioned as a hub reaching out to Southeast Asia under China’s One Belt One Road Initiative. Tianjin is the worst performing city among China’s four centrally-administered municipality. Qinghai and Shanxi (山西) fell by 3 places; Shaanxi （陕西）fell by 2 places and fell out of the top ten in the country though Shaanxi is considered as a key innovation hub in China’s northwest region.
China Regional Science and Technology Innovation Evaluation Report 2023 was released in December 2023. Different from regional innovation capacity evaluation report, this report focuses more on science and technology development.
The "Report" evaluates the comprehensive scientific and technological innovation level of 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and centrally-administered municipalities across the country (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan) from five aspects: scientific and technological innovation environment, scientific and technological activity investment, scientific and technological activity output, high-tech industrialization and commercialization, and science and technology promotion of economic and social development.
Shanghai, Beijing, Guangdong, Tianjin, Jiangsu and Zhejiang lead the country in terms of their comprehensive scientific and technological innovation level. The comprehensive scientific and technological innovation strength of Anhui, Hubei and other regions in the central region has improved rapidly, and regional collaborative innovation and development (区域创新协调发展) ability has further emerged.
There is regional disparity in science and technology innovation development in China. According to the report, the first tier is regions with a comprehensive scientific and technological innovation level index value higher than the national average. In 2023, it is Shanghai, Beijing, Guangdong, Tianjin, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The ranking is consistent with the 2012 report. These six regions are China's leading science and technology innovation regions. The second tier is regions where the comprehensive scientific and technological innovation level index value is lower than the national average but higher than 50 points. In 2023, it includes 15 regions including Hubei, Chongqing, Anhui, and Shaanxi, an increase of 8 regions compared with 2012. The third tier includes 10 regions with a comprehensive scientific and technological innovation level index value below 50 points. This year there are 8 fewer regions than in 2012.
Note: Name of the two reports: 1) 中国区域创新能力评价报告2023 (released in November 2023) 2) 中国区域科技创新评价报告2023 (released in December 2023)
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