THE Shenzhen-Hong Kong area ranks second, following the Tokyo-Yokohama area, in a survey of top science and technology clusters around the world, according to the annual Global Innovation Index (GII) ranking published Tuesday by Cornell University and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

China climbed to 17th from 22nd place last year, according to the ranking.

Switzerland retains the top place this year, followed by the Netherlands and Sweden. The United States slid from 4th in 2017 to 6th, though in absolute terms, the country remains the top contributor in key innovation input and output.

In 2017, the number of invention patent applications in China reached 1.38 million, ranking first in the world for the seventh straight year.

The PCT applications of Shenzhen enterprises reached 20,457, making up 43 percent of China’s total and ranking No. 1 among Chinese cities for the 14th straight year.

Sources from Shenzhen’s science and innovation commission showed the city unveiled measures last week to promote science and technology cooperation between research institutes and higher learning universities in Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

Under the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Innovation Circle program, a subsidy program for technological cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, the subsidies for the new innovation projects are allowed to be used across the border. The move is to promote the integration of industry, research and education in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay area. Shenzhen will offer up to 3 million yuan (US$449,700) in subsidies for the projects under the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Innovation Circle program. The funds will mainly be used for the procurement of instruments, equipment and consumptive materials, costs of patents, auditing and research, and other administrative costs.

In the ranking, the United States came in second after China in the volume of researchers, patents and scientific and technical publications.

WIPO Director General Francis Gurry said that China’s rapid rise heralded “the arrival of multi-polar innovation,” reflecting “a strategic direction set from the top leadership to develop a world-class capacity in innovation and to move the structural basis of the economy toward more knowledge-intensive industries that rely on innovation to maintain a competitive advantage.”

The top 10 innovative economies also include Britain, Singapore, Finland, Denmark, Germany and Ireland.

GII ranks 126 economies based on 80 indicators, ranging from intellectual property filing rates to mobile-application creation, education spending and scientific and technical publications.

(He Mufu, Han Ximin)