Shenzhen (Photo/Xinhua)

Guangdong province in south China ranks first in the country in terms of innovation capacity, according to reports on innovation capacity monitoring and assessment recently released by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China.

Data shows that the province ranked first in research and development (R&D) spending from 2008 to 2018, followed by Jiangsu province in east China and Beijing. In 2018, Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces’ R&D spending both exceeded 250 billion yuan.

In 2018, 14 provinces and municipalities in the country spent more than 50 billion yuan in research and development. Among the top 10, there were six eastern provinces and municipalities, and four from the central and western regions.

The reports also indicated that cities with better innovation capacity also enjoyed better economic development. Shenzhen ranked first in both innovation capacity and per capital GPD among 72 innovative cities across the country.