Shanghai ranks high in innovative city list
SHANGHAI ranks 17th among the world’s 100 most innovative cities.
According to a report released at the China (Shanghai) International Technology Fair that opened yesterday, the city’s ranking was bolstered by its policy and economic environment.
The report, aiming at evaluating the competitiveness of cities worldwide in scientific research and innovation, was issued for the first time.
Shanghai’s high placing echoes the city government’s call for “developing the city into a global innovation hub,” said Feng Chunxiao, of the Shanghai Development and Reform Commission, who wrote the report.
Alongside the city’s efforts to enhance investment in innovation and industrial upgrading, “research into the world’s competition pattern in innovation will help the public and officials know better how to advance the city,” she added.
Shanghai follows San Francisco-San Jose and New York in the United States, which ranked first and second respectively, with London third. Beijing came ninth “as it wins out in scientific investment and the number of the world’s leading technology conglomerates,” Feng said, adding that Shanghai is “especially outstanding in policies and with its convenient opportunities to bolster innovation, and it has a competitive economic structure by nurturing and gathering advanced industries.”
But it is trailing competitors in basic research and the ability to transfer research results into industries, Feng said.
The report also showed domestically Shanghai can learn from Shenzhen, ranked 33rd, and Beijing in developing more technology patents to boost innovation. Hong Kong was 18th, Guangzhou 41st, Hangzhou 77th, and Tianjin 91st.
City’s planners can learn from the report, she added, to enhance development in such factors as patent applications, while the government can enable broader participation from society to boost fundraising and business development for technology companies, Feng said.
The report is expected to be released annually, “which will show how the competition pattern changes and give a reference on Shanghai’s progress into a global innovation hub.”