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WIPO China: WIPO Spotlights China's Leading Science and Technology Clusters in Thriving Innovation Ecosystem

September 21, 2023

Beijing, September 21 - The High-Level Roundtable on Top Science and Technology (S&T) Clusters 2023 was held in Beijing, gathering approximately 40 representatives from government, academia, and the business sector to analyze the implications of the 2023 Top S&T Clusters featured in the Global Innovation Index (GII). This index was recently released by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on September 20, providing valuable insights into the state of global innovation. The meeting was chaired by Ms. Liu Hua, Director of the WIPO Office in China, and aimed to explore innovative solutions in the midst of significant global transformations.

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(Photo: MOST)

Mr. Marco Aleman, Assistant Director General of WIPO, emphasized the significance of the GII as both a reference guide and a powerful tool for shaping innovation policies. He commended China for having three S&T clusters ranked within the global Top 5.

Mr. Zhang Guangjun, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (MOST), highlighted China's role as a global leader in technological innovation and its commitment to addressing global challenges through collaboration with WIPO and other international organizations on intellectual property innovation, utilization, management, and protection.

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(Photo: WIPO)

Mr. Dai Gang, Director General of the International Cooperation Department of MOST, underscored the positive impact of global rankings for S&T clusters in helping cities understand their current positioning and areas for improvement. He stressed the importance of stronger regional innovation collaboration to tackle global challenges effectively.

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(Photo: MOST)

Mr. Sacha Wunsch-Vincent, co-author of the GII, provided an overview of the evaluation results, revealing that China now boasts 24 clusters within the global Top 100, surpassing the United States for the first time. These innovative cities are emerging as engines of regional development.

(Photo: WIPO)

(From Left) Mr. XING Huaibin, Deputy Director General, the Department of Strategy and Planning, MOST, China; Mr. ZHANG Xu, President, Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development; Mr. ZHANG Qiao, Deputy Mayor, Suzhou Municipal People's Government; Ms. HOU Yun, Level I Inspector, Beijing Municipal Science & Technology Commission and Administrative Commission of Zhongguancun Science Park; Mr. ZHAO Jian, Chief Engineer, Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality; Mr. WU Hanrong, Deputy Director General, Guangzhou Municipal Science and Technology Bureau; Ms. Lillian Cheong Man Lei, Under Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; Mr. CHEN Wangyuan, Director, the Regulation Department of Science, Technology and Innovation Commission of Shenzhen Municipality

Senior government officials from Suzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Shenzhen shared their experiences and plans for developing S&T cities. They emphasized key areas such as intellectual property protection, industry-academia-research integration, talent attraction, and business incubation. These officials unanimously agreed on the vital importance of fostering closer regional innovation collaboration to create a globally competitive, open innovation ecosystem.

(Photo: WIPO)

(From Left) Mr. SHEN Hongfei, Vice President of Legal Department, Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd; Mr. CHEN Hongyu, Technology Cooperation Director, Xiaomi Technical Committee; Ms. CHEN Fang, CEO, Suzhou Raycan Technology Co., Ltd; Mr. SUN Zuolei, Senior Vice President, Shanghai Westwell Technology Co., Ltd; Mr. XUE Peng, Vice President, Guangzhou EHang Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd.; Mr. CAO Fuxin, IP Director, SmartMore Information Technology Co., Ltd.

Representatives from innovative companies in these cities, including Huawei and Xiaomi, shared their strategies for intellectual property management and technological advancements. They reaffirmed their commitment to continued investment in research and development, contributing to technological integration and innovation.

Participants at the roundtable praised the GII's ranking of top S&T clusters as a catalyst for economic growth and a valuable tool for assessing innovation policies. They encouraged governments and enterprises to actively utilize this tool to promote collaboration and drive innovation.

Ms. Liu Hua summarized the interpretation of top S&T clusters with three key terms: (i) Eastward Shift - highlighting the movement of global innovation centers towards Asia, with all Top 5 clusters now located in East Asia; (ii) Enhanced Collaboration and Cooperation - underlining the importance of regional collaborative innovation and S&T clusters as the future trend; (iii) Enterprise-Driven - recognizing innovative enterprises and talents as the core components of these clusters. WIPO pledged to strengthen cooperation with stakeholders to further advance open innovation through policy forums, registration systems, databases, cooperation platforms, and capacity-building initiatives.