Which Are China’s Top Innovation Clusters?

Shenzhen–Hong Kong–Guangzhou Innovation Cluster Retains Global No. 1 Ranking, China Leads with 25 of the World's Top 100 Innovation Clusters.

On September 8, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) released the 2026 Ranking of the World’s Top 100 Innovation Clusters, ahead of the launch of the Global Innovation Index 2026 on September 29.

China hosts 25 top-100 clusters, the highest number worldwide. Shenzhen–Hong Kong–Guangzhou, Tokyo–Yokohama, San Jose–San Francisco, Beijing and Seoul make up the global top five, together accounting for approximately 32.9% of global PCT applications.

Ningde, with an estimated cluster population of about 474,000, rose to third place globally in innovation intensity.

WIPO Director General Daren Tang said that the world’s leading innovation clusters are building blocks of national innovation ecosystems and show the importance of strong connections among research, enterprise, talent and investment. The distribution of clusters across regions, he emphasized, also reflects the increasing capacity of economies to translate innovation into economic and social impact.

Table 1 China's 25 Top-100 Clusters

No.	Cluster (Rank)	No.	Cluster (Rank)	No.	Cluster (Rank)
1	Shenzhen–Hong Kong–Guangzhou (1)	10	Qingdao (33)	19	Ningde (75)
2	Beijing (4)	11	Changsha (41)	20	Xiamen (78)
3	Shanghai–Suzhou (6)	12	Tianjin (44)	21	Dalian (83)
4	Hangzhou (13)	13	Chongqing (52)	22	Ningbo (87)
5	Nanjing (15)	14	Jinan (64)	23	Zhenjiang (94)
6	Wuhan (17)	15	Changchun (69)	24	Fuzhou (96)
7	Chengdu (20)	16	Harbin (70)	25	Macau–Zhuhai (99)
8	Xi'an (23)	17	Zhengzhou (73)
9	Hefei (32)	18	Shenyang (74)

How Does China Rank Among the World’s Top Innovation Clusters?

China is the economy with the most clusters in the world with 25 clusters, one more than in 2025, while the United States ranks second with 20; together, the two economies host nearly half of the world's top 100 innovation clusters. Germany follows with seven clusters, led by Munich (28th), while India and the United Kingdom have four each, led by Bengaluru (25th) and London (8th), respectively. Shenzhen–Hong Kong–Guangzhou, Tokyo–Yokohama, San Jose–San Francisco, Beijing and Seoul make up the global top five.

Chengdu rose to 20th place, entering the global top 20, while Fuzhou rejoined the top 100 in 96th place.

Table 2  GII Ranking of the World's Top 10 Innovation Clusters by Size, 2026

Rank	Cluster	Economy
1	Shenzhen–Hong Kong–Guangzhou	China / Hong Kong, China
2	Tokyo–Yokohama	Japan
3	San Jose–San Francisco, CA	United States of America
4	Beijing	China
5	Seoul	Republic of Korea
6	Shanghai–Suzhou	China
7	New York City, NY	United States of America
8	London	United Kingdom
9	Boston–Cambridge, MA	United States of America
10	Osaka–Kobe–Kyoto	Japan

Which Is China’s Most Innovation-Intensive Cluster?

In the innovation intensity ranking, Ningde rose from fourth in 2025 to third. Ningde's strength lies primarily in patenting: over the most recent five-year period, it recorded 16,239 PCT applications per million inhabitants, roughly twice the figure for San Jose–San Francisco (7,997). CATL accounted for 84% of the Ningde cluster's PCT applications. In the size ranking, Ningde climbed 24 places to 75th, the largest gain of any cluster this year.

Which Chinese Companies Are the Top PCT Applicants in Their Clusters?

WIPO’s 2026 innovation cluster briefs show considerable variation in the shares accounted for by the leading PCT applicants across clusters. Huawei accounts for approximately 26% of PCT applications from the Shenzhen–Hong Kong–Guangzhou cluster, while CATL accounts for 84% of those from the Ningde cluster. Table 3 lists the top PCT applicants and their shares for selected Chinese clusters.

Table 3  Top PCT Applicants and Their Shares in Selected Chinese Clusters

Cluster	Rank	Top PCT Applicant	PCT Applications (Fractional Count)	Share of Cluster
Shenzhen–Hong Kong–Guangzhou	1	HUAWEI	31,544	26%
Beijing	4	BOE	9,755	18%
Hefei	32	CXMT	2,550	51%
Changchun	69	FAW	878	49%
Ningde	75	CATL	6,480	84%
Macau–Zhuhai	99	GREE	856	31%

How Are the World’s Top Innovation Clusters Ranked?

The Ranking of the World’s Top 100 Innovation Clusters is published each year as part of WIPO’s Global Innovation Index (GII); the GII 2026 is the 19th edition. While the GII ranks the innovation performance of nearly 140 economies, the cluster ranking looks below the national level. Using a bottom-up method that looks beyond administrative and political borders, it identifies the geographic areas with the world’s highest density of inventors, scientific authors and/or venture capital activity.

Three metrics determine the top 100 ranking:

PCT applications: the locations of inventors listed in patent applications filed under the WIPO Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT);

Scientific publications: the affiliations of authors of published scientific articles;

Venture capital: the locations of companies receiving venture capital funding.

Which Chinese Clusters Rank Highest for Venture Capital Deals?

Three Chinese clusters rank among the top 10 by number of venture capital deals over the most recent five-year period:

• 4th: Shanghai–Suzhou, with 9,451 venture capital deals;
• 6th: Shenzhen–Hong Kong–Guangzhou, with 7,328 venture capital deals;
• 7th: Beijing, with 6,018 venture capital deals.

Which Chinese Clusters Rank Highest for Scientific Publications?

Chinese clusters account for the majority of the top 10 by scientific publication count. Beijing leads with 360,830 articles, approximately 4.8 times the output of Boston–Cambridge (74,838), the leading United States cluster by publication count.

Explore the full GII 2026 Ranking of the World’s Top 100 Innovation Clusters.