Shenzhen, Guangzhou ranked third and fifth respectively in a report on city innovation competitiveness in China (2018) released recently. And they are the top 2 cities among 15 quasi-provincial level cities in China.

The report measured the innovation of Chinese cities according to five metrics, namely innovation resources, innovation environment, innovation input, innovation output and innovation sustainability.

The top 10 cities ranked in the report are Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Xi'an, Ningbo and Wuhan.

According to Shenzhen Daily, Shenzhen scored a total of 57.6 points, 22.6 points above the average, in the ranking. Guangzhou and Hangzhou came in at second and third place, respectively.

In the innovation output category, Shenzhen ranks No. 1, according to the report, while the city follows Beijing in innovation input, and ranks third regarding both innovation resources and innovation sustainability. However, in the category of innovation environment, the city is in 8th.

The report shows that the cities with high rankings are mainly located in the east of China. Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen are the three cities with comprehensive scores surpassing 50.

As the urbanization of China has entered the stage of quality improvement, Shenzhen, as a key node of the global innovation network, is of great significance to the development of an innovative country, said Huang Maoxing, head of the School of Economics at Fujian Normal University.

The report found that innovative services, an important means of enhancing a city’s innovation capabilities, is the core point of competition among the top 10 cities.

Related: Guangzhou and Shenzhen become first-tier world cities in 2018

Globalization and World Cities (GaWC), one of the world’s most authoritative institutions focusing on city studies, released their City Classification for 2018 on November 13th. This is the first time for Shenzhen to be entered in the Alpha- section, indicating that it has become one of the 55 first-tier cities in the world. Furthermore, Guangzhou also moved up to the Alpha section this year, with its ranking rising from 40th to 27th. Six cities in China are considered first-tier world cities: namely Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.

According to experts, the fact that Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen all became first-tier cities indicated the constant rise of strength in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Ben Derudder is the Associate Director of GaWC. Based on GaWC's database, Derudder believed that the Pearl River Delta has higher international connectedness compared to the Yangtze River Delta (Cities like Hangzhou, Nanjing). "With its strong international connections, Guangzhou has maintained sound economic development momentum," Derudder said, "Thus becoming an Alpha-section city."

According to analysis from Hu Gang, a professor from Jinan University as well as the head of the Southern City Research Institution, the rise of the cities' rank matches the improvement of the overall strength of China on the world stage. With the promotion of the Belt and Road Initiative, the influence of China has increased.