Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou Innovation Cluster Leads Global Ranking

Shenzhen The Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou innovation cluster in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area ranked among the top 100 innovation clusters in the world's leading innovation clusters in the 2025 Global Innovation Index, released by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on Monday.

   This is the first time the cluster has surpassed Japan's Tokyo-Yokohama cluster to become the world's leading innovation center, highlighting the robust vitality of scientific and technological innovation in the Greater Bay Area, as well as the dynamic progress achieved by the international center of technological innovation.

   The Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou innovation cluster has consistently ranked second globally since 2020.

   The 2025 innovation cluster ranking process included a new key indicator, the volume of venture capital transactions, which was added to the existing key considerations regarding international patent applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and the number of articles each cluster has published in journals included in the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE). This new evaluation system emphasizes the production and design of intellectual property and also highlights the transformation, application, and value realization of innovation outcomes, according to the Guangdong Provincial Department of Market Supervision and Administration.

   This year, the world's top 100 innovation clusters are spread across 33 economies. With 24, China is home to the largest number of these clusters, followed by the United States with 22, and Germany with 7.