Robot Tianyi, white, stands with silver black Tiangong 1.2 MAX robots at the five-day World Robot Conference 2024 in Beijing on August 22, 2024. Tianyi is 163 centimeters tall, and as a service robot it can identify emotions and interact with people. Tiangong 1.2 MAX, 173 centimeters tall, can carry heavier items, walk faster and longer compared with its previous version 1.1 PRO. Photo: VCG

For the second consecutive year, China has the largest number of the world's top 100 science and technology clusters, according to an early release from the 2024 edition of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)'s Global Innovation Index (GII) on Tuesday.

The figures reflect the nation's technology innovations on the global stage, despite the ongoing crackdown by the US.

China has 26 of the world's top 100 science and technology innovation clusters, up from 24 last year, the report said. The US follows with 20, Germany with eight, and India and South Korea with four each.

China and the US are home to the world's largest science and technology clusters, with shifts among the top 100 showing especially fast growth of innovative activity in certain emerging economies, the report said.

Tokyo and Yokohama in Japan lead as the largest global science and technology cluster, followed by Shenzhen and Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province, and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shared second place. They were followed by Beijing in third place, and Shanghai and Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province, which shared fifth place.

The GII list of science and technology clusters identifies local concentrations of world-leading science and technology activity around the globe, according to the WIPO.

The report once again highlights China's strong position in global technological innovation, experts said. "It showcased the outstanding achievements of the second-largest economy in driving technological innovation and advancing the development of technology clusters," Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Technology innovation clusters, as a crucial foundation of the national innovation ecosystem, play a significant role in driving economic development and enhancing national competitiveness, the expert said. He said that the development of China's science and technology also shows that despite the suppression of Chinese technology firm and products by certain countries such as the US, China's achievements in the field of innovation are still remarkable.

China should continue to increase investment in technological innovation, optimize the innovation environment, and promote the formation and development of more technology innovation clusters, the expert said.

Global Times