On September 8, the World Intellectual Property Organization released its latest report, with the "Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong" innovation cluster securing the top spot for the second consecutive year in the Global Innovation Index (GII) cluster study.

The GII cluster ranking, established in 2017, evaluates the world's top 100 innovation clusters annually. It identifies the concentration of world-class innovative activity in specific regions using three core metrics: international patent applications filed through the World Intellectual Property Organization's Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), scientific paper publications, and venture capital transaction volumes.

As a key pillar of the cluster, Guangzhou has achieved outstanding results in recent years across PCT patent applications, scientific research papers, and venture capital investments, providing substantial support for the cluster's renewed success at the summit.

PCT International Patent Applications Rise 4.9% Year-on-Year

Guangzhou has prioritized quality over quantity while pursuing both growth and improvement. Through policy optimization, targeted services, and platform empowerment, the city continuously strengthens its overseas intellectual property layout capabilities. In the first half of 2026, the city recorded 791 PCT international patent applications, a 4.9% year-on-year increase. This growth rate significantly outpaced the national and provincial averages, achieving counter-trend growth among first-tier cities, with key districts like Huangpu and Nansha showing particularly impressive momentum.

As of the end of 2025, Guangzhou's total valid invention patents reached 205,900, with a per-capita ownership of 108.5 patents per 10,000 people—70.2 patents higher than the national average. Among these, high-value invention patents totaled 83,400, marking a 15.7% year-on-year increase.

Guangzhou is continuously transforming high-level patents from "dormant assets" into "flowing innovation." The "Automated Laboratory Biotechnology Equipment" technology system, independently developed by Guangzhou Laboratory, achieved deep alignment with industrial needs through the precise deployment and market-oriented operation of 27 patents. This successfully facilitated a 50 million yuan seed-stage financing round for Lide Health Technology (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd., while pioneering a trinity transformation model of "laboratory R&D–patent operation–industrial incubation," serving as a distinctive example of Guangzhou's efforts to convert scientific achievements into practical applications.

High-Quality Papers Increasingly Transforming into New Productive Forces

In terms of scientific paper publications, Guangzhou's high output provides solid support for enhancing the research influence of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong cluster. The report shows that Sun Yat-sen University and South China University of Technology rank first and second among all research institutions in the cluster, contributing approximately one-quarter of the total publications.

Guangzhou's high-level scientific research papers are steadily evolving into new productive forces. Professor Huang Fei's team at the State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices at South China University of Technology developed an organic soft-pack battery with an energy density exceeding 250Wh/kg, based on self-developed new materials. The related research was published in the journal Nature, and the new material has already achieved commercial transformation, supplying more than 100 research institutions and enterprises globally.

Professor Zhou Sheng's team at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou) also developed an industrially scalable quasi-pure MOF (Metal-Organic Framework) membrane, with findings published in Nature, drawing significant attention from the industrial sector.

Strengthening Sci-Tech Financial Supply to Boost Industrial Development

In the realm of science and technology finance, Guangzhou has established an integrated service model combining "loans, equity, guarantees, leasing, subsidies, and compensation" through a six-pronged approach. The city has established a 150 billion yuan industry mother fund, a 50 billion yuan venture capital mother fund, a 10 billion yuan angel mother fund, and a 5 billion yuan technology innovation mother fund.

As of the end of July 2026, Guangzhou's technology innovation mother fund has leveraged 26.842 billion yuan in paid-in capital from social sources, achieving a 7.49-fold amplification effect. This has guided companies with industry influence, such as Guangjing Energy and Huizhengqi Pharmaceutical, to establish operations in Guangzhou, while nurturing the emergence of 11 listed companies including Yuncong Technology and Guanggang Gases.

Currently, Guangzhou is in the process of establishing a 20 billion yuan science and technology innovation fund, further building a fund ecosystem that emphasizes "investing early, investing small, investing in hard tech, and investing for the long term." Additionally, in collaboration with various banks and insurance institutions, the city has launched "Sui Ke Dai" and "Sui Ke Bao" products to further lower enterprise financing barriers and reduce risks associated with research activities.

Powerful Research Platforms Propel Cross-Border Collaborative Innovation

In recent years, Guangzhou's science and technology innovation capability has achieved historic leaps. The city has advanced the development of its "3+3+N" science and technology innovation platform system, with its research city ranking rising to sixth globally.

Guangzhou's heavyweight research platforms are also driving coordinated development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The Nansha Sub-Center of the National Supercomputing Center in Guangzhou has provided over 350 million core-hours of supercomputing services to more than 270 research teams from Hong Kong and Macao, resulting in the production of over 180 high-quality research papers indexed by SCI, CAAI, and prominent international conferences.

Technology is the primary productive force, and talent is the primary resource. Guangzhou currently has 65 full-time academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Since 2026, the city has supported 114 leading technology and young scientific talents to relocate and develop in Guangzhou, organized the recommendation of 151 high-level talents for national major talent programs, and provided solid human resources guarantees for the production of high-level scientific research outcomes.

Looking ahead, Guangzhou will continue to strengthen its science and technology financial ecosystem, fully amplifying the enabling effects of risk capital. The city will focus on precise deployment for quality improvement and volume growth, continuously elevating the development capacity of PCT international patents. It will systematically optimize the innovation support framework, consistently reinforcing original innovation and achievement output capabilities. Furthermore, Guangzhou will deepen open collaboration across all regions, establish itself as a benchmark for cross-border innovation cooperation in the Greater Bay Area, systematically build a "comprehensive science and technology innovation" system, and stride confidently toward the goal of becoming a globally competitive science and technology innovation powerhouse.