Wuhan -- capital of Central China's Hubei province -- ranked fifth among the nation's cities in terms of innovation capabilities, according to reports co-released by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Institute of Science and Technical Information on Dec 26.
This marked the second year the reports were released.
The reports utilized a monitoring and evaluation indicator system examining five areas: innovation governance, original innovation, technological innovation, achievement transformation and innovation driving force.
These five markers monitor and evaluate the innovation capabilities of China's innovation-oriented cities.
Of these, innovation governance and the innovation driving force were the common requirements for the development of an innovation-oriented city, the reports said.
The data areas of original innovation, technological innovation and achievement transformation reflected the main innovation functions of cities with different innovation levels and could guide cities to explore differentiated innovative development paths, the report found.
It divided 72 innovative cities into three categories: innovation sources, innovation growth poles, and innovation clusters, based on the main innovation functions.
The reports showed that 15 cities -- represented by Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Hangzhou and Wuhan -- are currently innovation sources.
Such cities have top universities and research institutes, leading research talent and strong original innovation capabilities.
According to the Wuhan science and technology bureau, the city made outstanding achievements in scientific and technological innovation in 2019, winning a record of 26 National Science and Technology Awards
Last year, the city's recognized and registered technology contract transaction value was 84.1 billion yuan ($12.88 billion) -- at the forefront of sub-provincial cities in China.
The added value of the city's high-tech industries was 422.47 billion yuan, up 11.8 percent on the previous year.
The added value of its high-tech industries accounted for 26.04 percent of Wuhan's GDP, achieving a historic breakthrough.
