On September 16, 2025, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) released the "Global Innovation Index 2025" report (hereinafter referred to as "the Report"), in which China ranked in the global top ten for the first time, maintaining its position as the leading economy among 36 upper-middle-income countries and climbing a total of 25 places since 2013. This indicates that China has made significant achievements in implementing the innovation-driven development strategy and accelerating the construction of a strong technological and intellectual property nation.

The Report provides a comprehensive evaluation and ranking of the innovation ecosystems of 139 economies worldwide, focusing on two main aspects: innovation inputs and innovation outputs. It covers seven areas, including institutions, human capital and research, infrastructure, market maturity, business maturity, knowledge and technology outputs, and creative outputs, with a total of 21 secondary indicators and 78 detailed indicators.

Key findings of the report include:

• Switzerland maintains its first place, and China enters the top ten for the first time: Switzerland, Sweden, the United States, South Korea, and Singapore rank as the top five in the World Intellectual Property Organization's Global Innovation Index (GII) 2025, followed by the United Kingdom, Finland, the Netherlands, Denmark, and China, which has entered the top ten for the first time.
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• Surge in scientific publications: In 2024, global research output (papers) reached a record 2 million, driven primarily by a significant 14% increase in China and a robust 7.6% growth in India. This reflects the strong operation of the global scientific engine.
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• Continued growth in R&D, but at the lowest rate since 2010: Global R&D spending is expected to grow by 2.9% in 2024, a slowdown compared to a 4.4% increase in 2023, marking the lowest growth rate since 2010. While public R&D shows a slight recovery, corporate R&D growth outside the U.S. and China is only 1.4%, indicating a lack of momentum in many high-income and middle-income economies.
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• Corporate R&D reaches a historic high, but growth slows sharply: In 2024, corporate R&D spending reached a record $1.3 trillion. However, nominal growth slowed to 3.2%, with actual growth at only 1%, well below the average of 8% over the past decade. There is a stark contrast between industries: information and communication technology (ICT) companies, especially those in AI-intensive sectors, as well as software and pharmaceutical companies, continue to expand their R&D budgets, while traditional manufacturing sectors such as automotive and consumer goods are generally cutting R&D spending due to significant declines in company revenues.
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• International patent applications remain stable but grow slowly: After a rare decline in 2023, patent applications slightly increased by 0.5% in 2024, although growth remains fragile, with significant disparities between countries and regions and weak growth in applications.
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China has entered the top ten of the Global Innovation Index (GII) for the first time, surpassing Switzerland in knowledge and technology output, ranking second in R&D spending, and leading in patent applications. Additionally, China boasts several world-class innovation clusters.

Whether in innovation-driven cities or regions, innovation clusters are the beating heart of a nation's innovation system. These hubs unite top universities, researchers, inventors, venture capitalists, and R&D companies, collectively driving the development of breakthrough ideas.

Each year, the Global Innovation Index (GII) ranks the top 100 innovation clusters worldwide. This time, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster excelled in venture capital transactions, ranking first globally, followed by the Tokyo-Yokohama cluster in Japan. These two clusters make significant contributions to global scientific publications and patent outputs, together accounting for nearly one-fifth of the PCT applications submitted worldwide. The San Jose-San Francisco cluster in the United States, Beijing in China, and Seoul in South Korea ranked third, fourth, and fifth, respectively, while the Shanghai-Suzhou cluster ranked sixth.

This year, ten clusters entered the top 100 for the first time: three from the United States—Miami (67th), Phoenix (78th), and Salt Lake City (92nd); and two from China—Ningbo (93rd) and Ningde (99th).

Refer to https://www.wipo.int/zh/web/global-innovation-index for more information.