WIPO expert highlights China’s steady rise in innovation, IP development

China’s innovation engine has accelerated into the top tier globally, with the latest Global Innovation Index placing the country among the world’s top 10 for the first time. According to Carsten Fink, Chief Economist at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the country’s progress has been steady, long-term, and notably broad-based—cutting across digital technologies, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing.

A broad-based innovation surge

Fink characterizes China’s rise as both sustained and structural. He underscores that China is the only middle-income economy within the top 30 and has now broken into the top 10, a milestone that reflects deepening capabilities rather than a narrow set of breakthroughs. Unlike innovation waves concentrated in one or two industries, China’s gains are spread across multiple sectors. Longstanding strengths in digital communications now sit alongside rapid advances in renewable energy systems, high-density batteries, electric mobility, and biosciences.

From an ecological and energy perspective, this breadth matters. Innovation portfolios that encompass clean power, storage, and electrified transport tend to reinforce each other, supporting decarbonization at scale. As Fink notes, the Global Innovation Index evaluates the performance of entire economies, not isolated technologies—an approach that helps capture how science, business, and policy interact to turn research into widespread impact.

Clean-tech momentum and real-world deployment

The shift from laboratory breakthroughs to market adoption is visible in the clean-tech space. Advances in solar manufacturing, grid-scale and automotive batteries, and electric vehicles are creating feedback loops: greater deployment drives down costs, which in turn spurs further innovation and adoption. These dynamics are central to meeting climate goals, and they also nurture new industrial ecosystems—from critical materials processing to software for energy management.

For biodiversity and air quality, the ripple effects are tangible. Electrified transport reduces urban emissions and noise, while grid modernization and storage help integrate more wind and solar, cutting reliance on fossil fuels. Fink emphasizes that the country’s investments in science and talent are foundational to this transformation.

Innovation clusters as launchpads

The latest index highlights the global prominence of China’s innovation hubs. Twenty-four domestic clusters rank among the world’s top 100, with the Shenzhen–Hong Kong–Guangzhou corridor taking the top spot. Beijing and the Shanghai–Suzhou region also land within the top 10. These clusters blend dense research activity with manufacturing depth, venture capital, and entrepreneurial networks—conditions that compress the time from idea to industrial scale.

For renewables and storage, cluster effects are especially potent. Proximity between component suppliers, researchers, and pilot manufacturing lines enables rapid iteration, while access to capital supports the scaling of prototypes into bankable projects. Such environments help clean technologies cross the “valley of death” that often stalls climate solutions.

Intellectual property as a catalyst

Fink notes that intellectual property is integral to an innovation ecosystem that rewards risk-taking and commercialization. Chinese companies are expanding their patenting activity across numerous fields, a trend mirrored in international filings. While counting patents is not sufficient on its own, strong IP systems can protect early-stage investments, facilitate licensing, and encourage cross-border collaboration—vital for areas like advanced materials, biomanufacturing, and grid technologies.

Effective IP regimes also help align public goals with private incentives. When inventors can recover their costs and share returns, more capital flows toward long-horizon challenges such as decarbonization and climate adaptation. This is particularly important for sectors where scaling requires significant upfront infrastructure and certification, as seen in energy storage and electric mobility.

Planning with a long horizon

Another pillar of China’s progress, according to Fink, is continuity in policy planning. The recently completed 14th Five-Year Plan and preparations for the 15th establish predictable direction for science funding, education, and industrial strategy. That stability nurtures institutions—universities, labs, standards bodies, and accelerators—that anchor innovation cycles over decades.

Fink’s observations are grounded in on-the-ground experience across multiple cities, from the major coastal hubs to rising western centers such as Chengdu and Chongqing. He points to the visible emergence of new enterprises and a culture increasingly oriented around research-to-market pathways.

Implications for sustainability

China’s move into the top echelon of the Global Innovation Index carries global ramifications. In clean energy and ecological stewardship, the combination of scale, speed, and systemic capacity can shift cost curves and supply chains worldwide. As more technologies mature—from next-generation batteries to bio-based manufacturing—the likelihood of meeting climate targets improves.

The challenge ahead is to pair rapid innovation with responsible deployment: ensuring durable supply chains, minimizing environmental externalities, and strengthening international cooperation where shared standards and data accelerate progress. With a growing base of innovation clusters, a robust IP framework, and long-horizon planning, China is positioned to play an outsized role in that transition.