China Ranks Among World’s Leading Innovative Countries
China has officially ranked among the world’s leading innovative countries, according to a landmark report released on June 2 by the National Bureau of Statistics. The “14th Five-Year Plan Economic and Social Development Achievements Series Report” declares that China has “successfully ranked among the forefront of global innovative countries,” marking a milestone in the nation’s transition from a manufacturing-based economy to an innovation-driven one.
The announcement, reported by Xinhua News, comes on the heels of China’s entry into the top 10 of the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Global Innovation Index (GII) for the first time in September 2025, where it ranked 10th globally. According to the WIPO GII 2025, China is the only middle-income economy in the top 30, underscoring the scale of its innovation transformation.
Massive R&D Investment Drives Progress
During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), China’s research and development expenditure surged from 2.44 trillion yuan in 2020 to 3.93 trillion yuan in 2025, representing an average annual growth rate of 10.0%. R&D intensity — spending as a share of GDP — rose from 2.36% to 2.80%, surpassing the OECD average. The report states that China has “transformed from a technology follower into an important contributor to global innovation.”
China’s talent pool has also expanded dramatically. Full-time equivalent R&D personnel grew from 5.24 million person-years in 2020 to 7.95 million person-years in 2025, maintaining the world’s largest research workforce for 13 consecutive years. Technology commercialization accelerated, with national technology contract turnover rising from 2.8 trillion yuan to 7.6 trillion yuan over the same period.
Strategic Technologies and Infrastructure
The report highlights significant advances in strategic technology infrastructure. China constructed 77 major national science and technology facilities, with some reaching world-leading capability levels. Breakthroughs were achieved across quantum information, artificial intelligence, life sciences, and deep space, sea, and earth exploration.
Key technology milestones include steady progress in domestic semiconductor development (“China Chip”), major breakthroughs in domestic operating systems, and LiDAR technology leapfrogging from a follower to a leadership position. Major engineering projects also reached critical milestones: the Tiangong space station became fully operational, the C919 large aircraft entered regular commercial service, and the “Mengxiang” (Dream) ocean drilling vessel was commissioned.
Enterprise Innovation and Digital Transformation
China’s enterprise innovation ecosystem has expanded substantially. By the end of 2025, the country had cultivated over 600,000 technology and innovation-oriented small and medium enterprises, 504,000 high-tech enterprises, and more than 140,000 specialized “little giant” enterprises. Digital transformation reached 89.6% of industrial enterprises above designated size.
The digital economy accounted for 33.1% of GDP in 2024, while the “Three New” economy — new industries, new business formats, and new business models — contributed 18.01% of GDP, up 1.5 percentage points from 2020. China now hosts 101 “lighthouse factories” recognized by the World Economic Forum, the highest number of any country globally.
Technology’s Broader Economic Impact
The report details how innovation is permeating all sectors of the economy. Industrial robot applications now cover 71 industrial categories, with robot density far exceeding the global average. China accounts for over 50% of global new energy storage installed capacity, and the agricultural technology contribution rate exceeded 64% in 2025.
Technology has also transformed public services. A remote medical service network now covers all cities and counties, and cross-province direct settlement of medical expenses has benefited over 560 million person-times.
International Recognition and Outlook
China’s innovation achievements have been recognized internationally. The ITIF noted that while Chinese firms are “not as innovative as global leaders in Western nations” in many sectors, they are “catching up, in many cases at an extremely rapid pace — and the scale of their efforts is massive.”
WIPO Director General Daren Tang offered a measured perspective on global innovation trends, stating: “While we see encouraging signs of recovery in areas such as innovation uptake and impact, the global innovation engine is not firing on all cylinders. Slower growth in R&D investments and declining VC activity reminds us that innovation requires sustained upstream and financial commitment.”
Looking ahead, the report calls for continued implementation of the innovation-driven development strategy during the upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan period, with emphasis on deepening reforms of the science and technology system and using innovation to lead the development of “new quality productive forces.” The path forward, however, will require navigating ongoing US-China technology tensions and addressing challenges in basic research and intellectual property protection.
Reporting by Liu Yin (Science and Technology Daily), edited by Zhou Jingjie.