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Beijing ranks third on the Global Innovation Hubs Index 2024, which was released on November 21 in the capital. (Photo provided to China Daily)

Beijing ranks third on the Global Innovation Hubs Index 2024, according to Yang Bin, vice-president of Tsinghua University, who released and interpreted the index evaluation results of the global innovation hubs on behalf of the research group on November 21.

The Global Innovation Hubs Index (GIHI) was jointly developed by the Center for Industrial Development and Environmental Governance of Tsinghua University and Nature Research Intelligence.

According to the newly-released index, Beijing ranks third, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) ranks sixth and Shanghai surpasses Paris and Tokyo to rank seventh.

Global innovation hubs have supported the global economic recovery, and Asian cities have made significant progress in the innovation ecology. Leading cities have demonstrated their unique development models, and the original innovation source capability has played a crucial role, Yang said.

The top 20 cities of the GIHI 2024 show four development models, highlighting the critical role of original innovation source capacity in science and technology innovation.

Among them, research innovation cities represented by New York, Beijing and the GBA have become crucial global innovation hubs with their scientific research strength and academic accumulation.

Beijing ranks third on the Global Innovation Hubs Index 2024, which was released on November 21 in the capital. (Photo provided to China Daily)

The research innovation and innovation ecosystem development model represented by seven cities, such as London and Shanghai, has progressed in basic scientific research and innovation environment.

The continuous strengthening of international cooperation has become an essential trend in promoting scientific and technological innovation.

Beijing and the GBA have maintained growth in the number of international cooperation papers. In 2022, Beijing ranked first in international cooperation papers in eight disciplines in science, technology, engineering and medicine.

The impact of COVID-19 has deepened public understanding of the importance of biomedical innovation and development, leading to a new round of explosive growth in this field after 2020.

Paris, New York and Beijing have moved towards an innovation source development model by gathering a large number of national scientific research institutions. Boston, San Francisco-San Jose and Shanghai have accelerated the incubation of biomedical industry innovation and interdisciplinary integration with the world's leading innovation ecosystem.

Springer Nature released the Nature Index 2024 Science Cities (NISC2024), a supplement to Nature.

Ju Rong, head of Data and Analysis Solutions for Springer Nature China, explained that China's scientific research output continues to grow. Beijing again topped the list of "scientific research cities" and expanded its advantages. Its contribution share is nearly twice that of the second-ranked city. This year, Shanghai replaced New York in the second place.

"While Beijing is extending its lead at the summit of the Science Cities ranking, an interesting development in 2023 has been the rise of China's provincial capitals — from Chengdu in the west to Hefei in the east. These cities, lesser known in the West, are now rubbing shoulders in the top 30 for natural sciences with long-established scientific centers in Europe and North America," said Simon Baker, chief editor of Nature Index.