(Yicai) Dec. 22 -- Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangdong provinces ranked top three among China’s provincial-level regions in terms of scientific and technological innovation, according to a recent report released by the Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development.

Shanghai and Beijing retained their first and second spots, respectively, from last year, while Guangdong replaced Tianjin as third-ranked, the Evaluation Report on China’s Regional Innovation Capacity 2023 showed.

The three highest-ranked provincial-level regions are the ones where China established its three international science and technology centers, according to the report.

China’s science and technology innovation index rose nearly 16.9 points to 77.1 points this year from 2012, according to the report.

The science and technology innovation indexes of Shanghai, Beijing, Guangdong, Tianjin, Jiangsu province, and Zhejiang province were higher than the national average this year, the same as in 2012. Jiangxi and Anhui provinces in central China jumped by nine and eight spots, respectively, in the period.

Among the members of the Yangtze River Delta region, Shanghai ranked first, Jiangsu fifth, Zhejiang sixth, and Anhui ninth, according to the report. These four provincial-level regions cumulatively invested CNY842.2 billion (USD117.9 billion) in research and development, accounting for over 30 percent of China’s total in 2021.

The Yangtze River Delta region became China's most competitive regional community, with 13 indicators accounting for more than 30 percent of the country’s total, Xuan Zhaohui, director of Casted’s Institute of Technology Foresight and Statistics, told Yicai.

R&D expenditure of Guangdong, China’s largest provincial-level region in terms of gross domestic product, totaled CNY441.2 billion last year, ranking first in the country for the seventh consecutive year, according to the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics in September.

Editors: Shi Yi, Futura Costaglione