Beijing surpassed London for the first time to rank third globally in innovation, according to the Global Innovation Hubs Index 2022 released on Dec 19.

Developed by the Center for Industrial Development and Environmental Governance at Tsinghua University and Nature Research, the GIHI2022 continues in evaluating 100 GIHs by three indicators including research innovation, innovation economy and innovation ecosystem.

The number of evaluated hubs in the 2022 edition has increased from 50 to 100, which also include mini-hubs with populations of less than one million, according to Nature Research.

The top 10 cities and metropolitan areas (MA) this year are San Francisco-San Jose, New York MA, Beijing, London MA, Boston MA, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Tokyo MA, Geneva, Paris MA and Shanghai.

"Cities and metropolitan areas including Beijing, Hangzhou, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area are important nodes in the network of renewable energy technology, leading the world in a global shift towards green development," said Nature Research.

In addition to the three Bay Areas of San Francisco, New York and Tokyo, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, which has overtaken Tokyo Bay Area for the first time, ranks sixth on the list and has become a new innovation hub in Asia, the report said.

Beijing has progressed rapidly in innovation ecosystem in recent years. The city ranks top three globally in all these fields, such as the world's top 200 scientific research institutions, supercomputers, leading innovation enterprises and unicorns, and venture capital, said Chen Ling, GIHI's chief scientist and director of CIDEG at Tsinghua University, Xinhua reported.

China has entered a period of innovation-driven development, with digitalization further accelerating the flow of innovation resources. Building international science and technology innovation centers is not only the embodiment of a country's comprehensive strength but also the driving force for further development in the future, Chen said.