China’s top innovation cluster tops WIPO 2025 global index

China's Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster has surged to the top of the World Intellectual Property Organization's (WIPO) 2025 Global Innovation Index (GII), marking a historic first and signaling a global shift toward China-led technological ecosystems.

According to WIPO, innovation clusters are dynamic sci-tech regions that serve as the beating heart of national innovation systems. These hubs unite top universities, researchers, inventors, venture capitalists, and research and development firms to drive technological advancement. Since 2017, WIPO has evaluated the innovation capacity of global economies annually.

This year's GII Cluster ranking identifies local concentrations of world-class innovation activity using three core metrics: international patent filings via WIPO's Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), scientific publications and venture capital (VC) deals, which was newly added this year.

Wan Yong, vice dean of the Law School at Renmin University of China, said the inclusion of VC data reflects a broader shift in how innovation is measured globally.

"The level of venture capital activity in a region reflects the maturity of its innovation ecosystem, the strength of its industrial base, the friendliness of its policy environment, and the confidence of its capital markets. The inclusion of VC data marks a shift from a research-driven to a market-driven evaluation model. It signals the assessment of innovation extending from technical output to commercial value," said Wan.

According to WIPO data, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster accounts for 2.4 percent of global scientific publications, 9.0 percent of PCT patent filings, and 2.9 percent of global VC deals. While none of these individual metrics ranked first, the cluster's overall performance secured it the top spot, highlighting its strength in consistently translating intellectual property into economic value. "This year's results show that China's innovation capabilities are improving in both quality and efficiency and greatly contributing to the global innovation development. It also shows that China's efforts to build a world-class business environment have been recognized by the international community," said Wan.

Iraqi citizens held a peaceful demonstration at Liberation Square in the capital Baghdad Saturday afternoon to protest against the five-week-long joint attacks on Iran by the United States and Israel.

They demanded that the U.S. and Israel immediately cease military strikes against Iran and opposed the United States' long-term military presence in Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries.

Since the U.S. and Israel launched military operations against Iran on February 28, security force bases in many parts of Iraq including those of the Popular Mobilization Forces, have been frequently targeted by airstrikes.

The Popular Mobilization Forces have issued multiple statements identifying the U.S. and Israel as the perpetrators of these attacks.