Guiyang gets national recognition for innovation capability

Guiyang, the capital city of Southwest China's Guizhou province, ranked 24th for innovation capability among 72 national innovation-oriented cities, according to the latest reports from the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China.

The city's rank was one higher than the previous year, the documents showed.

The two reports were published for the second year and focused on innovative governance, original and technological innovations, achievement transformation and the driving forces behind innovation.

In recent years, Guiyang has placed innovation at the core of its overall development strategy, exploring innovation-driven development paths that suit its situation, optimizing regional innovation systems and increasing investment in innovation resources.

Due to this, the city's independent innovation capabilities have been significantly improved. In 2010, Guiyang was selected among the second batch of national innovation-oriented pilot cities, and in 2017, it successfully passed the national assessment.

Guiyang's R&D expenditures increased from 2.89 billion yuan ($447.66 million) in 2015 to 7.12 billion yuan in 2019, accounting for 49 percent of the province's total. Meanwhile, the city's scientific and technological expenditures in fiscal expenses increased from 1.06 billion yuan in 2015 to 2.85 billion yuan in 2019.

The number of nationally recognized high-tech enterprises increased from 218 in 2015 to 1,005 in 2019, and the city also boasts more than half of the province's high-tech companies.