Shanghai ranked first nationwide in overall science and technology innovation efficiency, based on the China Regional Science and Technology Innovation Evaluation Report 2025.
The high rating displays the regular strengthening of Shanghai’s innovation ecosystem in latest years, underpinned by sustained will increase in funding.
From 2022 to 2025, the town’s fiscal spending on science and technology grew at a median annual charge of greater than 20 p.c, whereas funding in primary analysis elevated by 85 p.c.
During the 14th Five-Year Plan interval (2021-25), R&D expenditure as a share of GDP rose to round 4.5 p.c.
The report assesses regional innovation ecosystems utilizing a structured set of indicators that measure innovation inputs, outputs, and organizational effectivity.
Strong efficiency in input-output effectivity
Compiled by the Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development, the report attracts on statistical information from authorities departments. It evaluates the excellent innovation efficiency of 31 provincial-level areas in the Chinese mainland.
Its analysis outcomes have been included into science and technology growth targets in a number of areas, making it one of many nation’s longest-running and most steady regional innovation evaluation methods.
In the 2025 version, Shanghai ranked first with a rating of 91.38, up one place from the earlier yr and 2.18 proportion factors increased year-on-year. Beijing, Jiangsu province, Guangdong province, and Zhejiang province adopted in second by means of fifth locations.
In phrases of science and technology output, Shanghai ranked first nationwide, topping the subcategories of innovation output and technology commercialization.
Compared with the earlier yr, Shanghai’s income from worldwide technology companies grew by 8.94 p.c, accounting for 34.22 p.c of the nationwide complete.
Business growth income in the biopharmaceutical sector is a vital element of worldwide technology companies earnings. According to Pharmcube, Shanghai ranked first nationwide in the variety of outbound licensing transactions for modern medication in 2025, accounting for about one-third of the nationwide complete.
In tutorial analysis, scientists based mostly in Shanghai revealed 181 papers in Science, Nature, and Cell in 2025, accounting for 30.6 p.c of the nationwide complete.
Despite rating fifth nationwide in innovation funding, Shanghai led the nation in innovation output, reflecting excessive effectivity in organizing science and technology innovation actions, based on Zhang Mizhi, head of the statistical analysis analysis workplace on the Shanghai Institute for Science of Science.
Significant good points in high-tech trade efficiency
In innovation-related human sources, Shanghai scored 100 and ranked first nationwide, supported by continued development in college enrollment.
Investment in innovation infrastructure additionally rose markedly, with elevated spending on scientific devices and gear, whereas the share of fastened property in high-tech industries remained at a excessive stage.
Shanghai ranked third nationwide in high-tech trade efficiency, rising 13 locations from the earlier yr, with regular good points in labor productiveness throughout knowledge-intensive service industries, mental property-intensive sectors, and strategic rising sectors.
During the 14th Five-Year Plan interval, Shanghai has made main efforts to advance core applied sciences in three main industries: built-in circuits, biomedicine, and synthetic intelligence. In 2024, the mixed scale of those three industries reached 1.8 trillion yuan ($258.01 billion).
In latest years, Shanghai has explored a mission supervisor system to assist frontier applied sciences and future industries, selling built-in deployment of initiatives, funding, expertise, platforms, and insurance policies in areas comparable to brain-computer interfaces, 6G, and quantum computing.
In October 2025, Shanghai launched a bundle of coverage measures to speed up frontier technology innovation and the event of future industries, specializing in future manufacturing, future info, future supplies, future power, future area, and future well being, to advance the transformation of innovation outcomes from laboratories to industrial purposes.
Source: Jiefang Daily