Gathering Innovation Synergy, Highlighting an Innovation-Driven Identity

——The “Shenzhen–Hong Kong–Guangzhou” innovation cluster ignites development momentum through a “fusion reaction”

Five years in pursuit, today it makes a stunning splash. In the latest Global Innovation Index 2025 released by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the “Shenzhen–Hong Kong–Guangzhou” innovation cluster topped the global Top 100 for the first time. Looking back over the past five years, the cluster has maintained an upward trajectory, racing along the track of scientific and technological innovation until it reached the summit. The achievement is built on the wisdom and sweat of countless innovators, underpinned by robust intellectual-property protection, and powered by powerful regional synergy.

Leveraging respective strengths to create an urban “fusion reaction” and build a seamlessly integrated innovation chain is the cluster’s core competitiveness.

Information & communication technology, the digital economy, biomedicine—Shenzhen zeroes in on emerging industries, possessing solid industrial foundations and outstanding innovation capacity. Hong Kong, a bridge connecting domestic and overseas resources, offers companies an international perspective and a steady flow of financial “living water.” Guangzhou, home to a dense concentration of universities and research institutes, serves as the main battleground for technology breakthroughs and industrial translation.

By complementing one another, the three cities have linked basic research, applied development and finance-enabled industrialization into one uninterrupted chain, forging formidable joint strength that continuously drives new breakthroughs and greater heights.

PCT international patent filings, scientific publications, venture-capital deals—on none of these three WIPO indicators is the “Shenzhen–Hong Kong–Guangzhou” cluster ranked first, yet it stands out for its balanced, “no-short-board” performance. This clearly shows that innovation capacity is not built on a single standout field but on the synchronized advance of many domains.

Cultivating an innovation ecosystem and nurturing a vibrant innovation climate is the “secret code” for the cluster’s sustained progress.

Shenzhen, the industrial-innovation powerhouse of the trio, contributes the bulk of patent output and is highly active in PCT filings and deployment. Huawei, ZTE, Tencent, Honor and the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT) all entered the 2024 global Top 50 for PCT applications.

“In 2010 SIAT and the Chinese University of Hong Kong set up the Centre for Translational Medicine R&D to develop orthopedic implant materials. Later, SIAT incubated Shenzhen Sinocels Biomedical Technology to commercialize the results. This May the product officially hit the market,” said Lai Yuxiao, executive director of the centre. “Along the way the team secured 18 patents and filed 15 PCT applications covering material regulation, fabrication techniques and core equipment, creating a solid patent portfolio that supports market expansion.”

“Shenzhen is a city of innovation, with not only a strong innovation culture but also an efficient, well-developed translation mechanism. Every link—from basic-science breakthroughs to technology development and industrial landing—is tightly connected and highly efficient, injecting endless momentum into frontier industries,” Lai noted.

Serving innovation and strengthening IP protection is the “know-how” behind the cluster’s frequent successes.

At this year’s WIPO Global Awards, Guangzhou-based biotech firm MycoBiome cracked the top 30, gaining global visibility through its IP strategy. “Following the principle of ‘core-tech product + core market + key defense’, we align patent deployment with product planning and overseas expansion, pre-emptively securing patents in major sales markets,” said chairman Jiang Xianzhi.

“PCT filings and the Patent Prosecution Highway not only broaden patent coverage but also accelerate grant times in target markets, opening precious time windows for international partnerships and market expansion,” Jiang explained.

Countless innovative companies have grown up on this soil. Shenzhen-based cooling-tech startup i2Cool chose Hong Kong for incubation, Shenzhen for headquarters and Guangzhou for manufacturing—“Hong Kong R&D → Shenzhen translation → Greater Bay production → global market” is increasingly the path of choice.

Topping the ranking is both a milestone and a fresh starting line. Going forward, the three cities will continue to reinforce their innovation foundations through complementary strengths, activate momentum with intellectual property, and write still more inspiring innovation stories, providing the world with replicable “China solutions” for regional innovation synergy.