Zhejiang cities incl. Ningbo ranked among top 0 most innovative cities

The capability to innovate is highly-valued by companies and nations.

Cities with higher ground-breaking capability are also where private business is active, according to forbeschina.com.

Nine of the top 10 most creative cities in the Chinese mainland, ranked by Forbeschina this year, also made their way onto the list of the top 10 best commercial cities.

Lets take a look at the top 10 most innovative cities.

No 10 Changzhou

Situated in the affluent Yangtze Delta region of China, Changzhou is a city in East Chinas Jiangsu province.

It borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the west, Zhenjiang city to the northwest, Wuxi city to the east and the province of Zhejiang to the south.

In the northern part of Changzhou there is a national level hi-tech industrial development zone, which is home to more than 1,300 foreign companies and over 5,000 local enterprises. Companies doing business in engineering machinery, automobiles, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and software are all welcomed.

No 9 Guangzhou

Also known as Canton, Guangzhou is the capital of Guangdong province in South China, close to Hong Kong and Macau.

Guangzhou, the main manufacturing hub of the Pearl River Delta, stages the China Import and Export Fair, which dates back to 1957 and called the Canton Fair, biannually. The city is ranked No 1 in Forbeschina.coms Top 25 Best Commercial Cities in the Chinese mainland but lags behind neighbor Shenzhen in innovation.

No 8 Ningbo

A seaport city in East Chinas Zhejiang province, Ningbo is located 220 kilometers south of Shanghai. It is a major exporter of electrical products, textiles, food and industrial tools. The private economy of the city is especially well-developed, contributing 80 percent of total Gross Domestic Product last year.

No 7 Nanjing

The government of Nanjing, capital of East Chinas Jiangsu province, is boosting the attractiveness of the city to investors by building large industrial parks, which now number four: Gaoxin, Xingang, Huagong and Jiangning.

Despite this, Nanjings GDP is still behind that of other neighboring cities such as Suzhou, Wuxi and Hangzhou, which have an edge in attracting foreign investment and local innovation.

No 6 Wuxi

Business sensitivity, market foresight and a feeling of crisis in the blood of Wuxi businessmen have made the pursuit of innovation a central task throughout history, said Shan Kangqi, vice-chairman of the Wuxi Federation of Industry and Commerce.

Wuxi does not rely on investment to boost economic growth, its private business accounting for nearly 80 percent of the citys economy.

No 5 Shanghai

Shanghai ranks third after Tokyo and Silicon Valley, California in the number of global and regional research and development (R&D) headquarters, said the citys business administration.

Foreign R&D centers hit 378 by the end of September - a quarter of all centers in China. A third belong to the worlds top 500 enterprises and foreign investment accounts for about half of the R&D in Shanghai, which contributes to more than two-thirds of the production value and sales revenue of new products in Shanghai, said Gu Jun, vice-director of the Shanghai municipal commission of commerce, in a forum on Shanghais R&D last month.

No 4 Hangzhou

Capital of Zhejiang province, Hangzhou is home to Chinas large private companies such as e-commerce giant Alibaba.com and food and beverage producer Wahaha.

Alibaba made its mark on Wall Street by raising about $25 billion this year through the worlds largest IPO.

No 3 Beijing

The cultural and political center of China, Beijing boasts the largest number of higher education institutions in the country. The Zhongguancun Sicence Park is home to numerous IT companies and is dubbed Chinas Silicon Valley, but the countrys capital still does not make No 1 on the innovation list and is only ranked seventh on Forberschina.coms Best Commercial Cities list.

No 2 Suzhou

The city of Suzhou in Jiangsu province, was admitted to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network as a city of Crafts and Folk Arts, according to UNESCO on Dec 1.

It also ranked fourth in terms of ability to attract talent, according to a survey published by the CBN Weekly magazine this year.

No 1 Shenzhen

Shenzhen in South Chinas Guangdong province is a city with most stories to tell about Chinas opening up and reform.

It has held a high tech trade fair annually since 1999, bringing together companies with new products and investors. The city is home to Internet giants Tencent, Netease and telecommunication players Huawei and ZTE.

LINK:	http://en.nbwh.gov.cn/art/2014/12/24/art_1325_63955.html...
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