OXFORD, UK - In recent years, China has improved its innovation performance and is now poised to become one of the top 10 most innovative economies in the world.

For the first time, China has as many top science and technology (S&T) clusters as the United States, with 21 apiece, according to the 2022 edition of World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Global Innovation Index (GII). By comparison, in the latest ranking Germany hosts 10 clusters, while Japan has five.

China has moved up one place to 11th in the Global Innovation Index as compared to the previous year, indicating its economy’s resilient capacity despite the strict COVID-19 measures it is still implementing. This means the world’s second-largest economy is now closer than ever to ranking among the top 10 most innovative economies.

China is the most innovative economy in its income group, claiming the top spot among the upper-middle income group of 36 countries. It is also among the top three most innovative economies in its region (which includes Southeast Asia, East Asia, and Oceania).

In addressing the Global Innovation Index 2022 webinar jointly held by the WIPO and the Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development (CASTED) on November 11, Soumitra Dutta, co-editor and founder of the Global Innovation Index and Dean of Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford, gave the following remarks: 

“We are delighted to be part of this effort both in China and also globally as we seek to help improve the state of innovation in the world, and thereby improve the state of the world as a whole. The Global Innovation Index has evolved into not just a benchmarking exercise, but also a very important source of information when it comes to identifying important trends and questions that we must collectively address in innovation space.”

Soumitra Dutta said that China’s success in innovation an