The Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou region has retained its position as the world's top innovation cluster for a second consecutive year, underscoring the fruits of collaborative efforts across the Greater Bay Area and its leading role in global innovation, officials and experts said.

The cluster ranked first in the Global Innovation Index 2026 top 100 innovation clusters, published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on Tuesday.

Twenty-five clusters in China made it into the top 100 list, the most in any country for the fourth consecutive year. The Beijing cluster ranked fifth, while the Shanghai-Suzhou cluster ranked sixth.

The Tokyo-Yokohama, San Jose-San Francisco, and Seoul clusters took second, third and fourth place, respectively.

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The ranking measures local concentrations of world-class innovation activity through international patent applications filed via the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), scientific publications and the number of venture capital deals.

In the latest ranking, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster recorded 2,259 PCT applications, 4,060 scientific articles and 138 venture capital deals per million inhabitants over the past five years, according to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government.

The result “reaffirms the outstanding innovative capacity and the innovation and technology-supporting financing ecosystem of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area”, an HKSAR government spokesman said.

“Hong Kong will further deepen collaboration with the Greater Bay Area sister cities, contributing to our country's efforts in building a modern industrial system and achieving high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and strength,” the spokesman added.

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Cao Zhongxiong, director of the Department of Digital Economy and Global Strategy at the China Development Institute, a Shenzhen-based think tank, said the ranking demonstrates the Greater Bay Area’s industrial innovation capabilities.

“As technological innovation becomes increasingly focused on artificial intelligence, the Greater Bay Area’s innovation performance and visibility will become even more prominent,” Cao told China Daily.

He added that the region’s contribution to global innovation is reflected not only in hard technology, but also in its industrial and supply chains.

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Looking ahead, Cao said the region should place greater emphasis on the “soft side” of technological innovation, particularly original innovation capabilities in areas such as large models and algorithms.

“Hong Kong's leading role in AI should be leveraged, while Shenzhen and Guangzhou should make better use of their strengths in innovation commercialization to promote coordinated innovation across the Greater Bay Area,” he said.

Victor Kwok Hoi-kit, deputy research director of Our Hong Kong Foundation, said Hong Kong’s private fund assets under management are nearly $250 billion, second only to the Chinese mainland in Asia.

“By better leveraging its role as a private capital hub, the city could further turn its scientific research strengths into industrial and capital achievement,” he said.

Chen Yanshan contributed to this story.

Contact the writer at sally@chinadailyhk.com