China Regional Science and Technology Innovation Report 2026 Released, National Score 81.13

On the afternoon of September 11, 2026, the Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development released the China Regional Science and Technology Innovation Evaluation Report 2026 at the Pujiang Innovation Forum. The report builds an indicator system comprising 12 secondary indicators and 51 tertiary indicators across five dimensions: science and technology innovation environment, science and technology innovation input, science and technology innovation output, high-tech industry, and innovation-driven development. It evaluates the composite science and technology innovation level of 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities across the country, excluding Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan. In 2026, China's composite science and technology innovation score was 81.13, up 0.93 points from 2025.

Based on composite science and technology innovation scores, the 31 regions nationwide are divided into three tiers. The first tier comprises regions scoring above the national average of 81.13, including six provinces and municipalities: Shanghai, Beijing, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Tianjin. The second tier comprises 23 regions scoring below the national average but above 50, including Hubei, Anhui, Chongqing, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Shandong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Henan, Liaoning, Jilin, Hebei, Ningxia, Heilongjiang, Hainan, Gansu, Guizhou, Guangxi, Yunnan, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, and Shanxi. The third tier comprises regions scoring below 50, including Qinghai and Tibet.

Compared with 2025, 21 of the 31 regions nationwide scored higher than in 2025, among which eight regions, Xinjiang, Hubei, Fujian, Guangxi, Jilin, Anhui, Hunan, and Sichuan, exceeded the national average increase of 0.93 percentage points; 10 regions, including Shaanxi, Zhejiang, and Shanxi, scored lower than in 2025. In terms of ranking changes, Inner Mongolia, Anhui, Henan, and Xinjiang each rose one place from 2025; Shanxi fell two places from 2025, while Liaoning and Chongqing each fell one place.

In the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Beijing maintained second place nationwide in composite science and technology innovation level, rose three places to first in high-tech industry, kept first place in science and technology innovation environment, and its R&D spending intensity reached 6.58%. Tianjin ranked sixth in composite ranking, third in science and technology innovation output, and fourth in science and technology innovation environment; its number of higher education students per 10,000 people and per capita operating revenue of industrial strategic emerging industries both ranked second nationwide, and its ranking in labor productivity of knowledge-intensive service industries rose three places. Hebei ranked 19th in composite ranking, rose eight places in high-tech industry, the largest improvement nationwide, and ranked first in the proportion of operating revenue of industrial strategic emerging industries to industrial operating revenue.

Regarding the Yangtze River Delta's composite science and technology innovation level in 2026, Shanghai maintained first place nationwide, Jiangsu ranked third nationwide, Zhejiang ranked fifth nationwide, and Anhui rose one place to eighth nationwide. In 2024, the Yangtze River Delta's R&D spending reached RMB 1.12388 trillion, accounting for about 30.9% of the national total, with R&D spending intensity reaching 3.39%, higher than the national average of 2.69%. In 2024, the Yangtze River Delta's R&D personnel reached 2.407 million person-years, accounting for 31.8% of the national total, of which researchers reached 910,000 person-years, accounting for 28.6% of the national total; R&D researchers per 10,000 people reached 39 person-years, higher than the Pearl River Delta's 34 person-years.

In 2024, the number of enterprises with R&D activities in the Yangtze River Delta accounted for 39.2% of the national total and 38.5% of enterprises in the Yangtze River Delta, 7.2 percentage points higher than the national average of 31.3%. Enterprise R&D spending reached RMB 739.99 billion, accounting for 32.8% of the national total, and its share of enterprise operating revenue reached 1.87%, higher than the national average of 1.61%. Enterprise spending on technology introduction, digestion and absorption, technological transformation, and purchase of domestic technology totaled RMB 119.77 billion, accounting for 27.8% of the national total.

Guangdong ranked fourth nationwide in composite science and technology innovation level, with science and technology innovation input and innovation-driven development ranking second nationwide, science and technology innovation output ranking fifth, and high-tech industry rising one place. Guangdong is advancing the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area international science and technology innovation center, relying on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong and Guangzhou-Zhuhai-Macao science and technology innovation corridors.