By Gu Yekai, People’s Daily

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) recently released its 2026 ranking of the world’s top 100 innovation clusters. China accounted for 25 clusters on the list, ranking first globally for the fourth consecutive year. The Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou, Beijing, and Shanghai-Suzhou clusters all ranked among the top 10.

The ranking identifies regions with concentrated innovation activity based on indicators including international patent applications, scientific publications, and venture capital transactions. China’s consistent strong showing on the list, with innovation clusters flourishing across multiple regions, demonstrates both the scale and depth of its innovation ecosystem.

This leadership reflects years of strategic investment in coordinated regional tech development. Regional innovation networks have become a key pillar of the national innovation framework and provide a vital foundation for building China into a leading country in science and technology. 

Coordinated development in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region has fostered deeper collaboration, with Beijing focusing on research and development while Tianjin and Hebei translate research findings into manufacturing applications. 

Meanwhile, the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta has strengthened links among innovation hubs along the G60 Science and Technology Innovation Corridor, creating a cross-regional collaborative innovation platform spanning nine cities. 

Stronger regional collaboration has cultivated a sound pattern of innovation with multiple hubs working in concert.

Beyond sheer numbers, the rankings also signal a comprehensive upgrade across China’s broader innovation system.

Innovation clusters capture the close links among research institutions, businesses, talent, and investment. In recent years, China has accelerated the commercialization of scientific and technological advances while nurturing and expanding new quality productive forces. Many of the innovation clusters on the list are also major industrial hubs. 

Wuhan in central China’s Hubei province, ranked 17th, saw the value added of its industrial enterprises above the designated size in high-tech manufacturing rise 65.7 percent year on year in the first half of this year, as its optoelectronics and information technology industries gathered pace. Ningde in Fujian province, meanwhile, climbed 24 places in the rankings, driven in large part by innovation in its power battery industry.

This virtuous cycle between innovation and development is enabling more emerging and future-oriented industries to gain momentum and grow rapidly within these clusters.

China’s leading position in the number of top 100 global innovation clusters is also creating valuable opportunities for global partners.

An increasing number of foreign-invested companies are choosing to conduct research and pursue innovation in China, with many establishing R&D centers in these clusters. In the first seven months of this year, foreign applicants filed more than 42,000 invention patent applications in China. In 2025, foreign investment actually utilized in scientific research and technical services accounted for nearly 1/5 of China’s total utilized foreign investment.

China is also committed to sharing the benefits of innovation through openness and cooperation. In the first half of this year, Chinese developers of innovative drugs reached 81 licensing deals with overseas partners, while industrial robots made in China were exported to 141 countries and regions. 

As Carsten Fink, WIPO’s chief economist, noted, Chinese innovation is pushing the frontiers of global science and technology across an expanding range of fields, with countries around the world increasingly benefiting from it.

Today, global innovation resources are increasingly converging on China through its innovation clusters.

By Zhou Shanshan, People’s Daily

The journey from Ruijin in east China’s Jiangxi province to Yan’an in northwest China’s Shaanxi province has changed dramatically over time.

In the past, the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army soldiers, driven by a profound sense of mission, trekked roughly 12,500 kilometers across China wearing straw sandals, forging a path to survival through the arduous Long March. Today, the two cities are directly linked by a high-speed railway. The 1,857-kilometer journey takes just 11 hours and 32 minutes, offering a smooth and efficient travel experience.

This year marks the 90th anniversary of the successful conclusion of the Long March. A single train ticket now bridges not only two distant cities but also two distinct eras. The transformation from a desperate struggle for survival to an ongoing drive for regional revitalization mirrors the sweeping transformations China has experienced.

Aboard the train are descendants of Red Army soldiers, carrying straw sandals and certificates commemorating fallen martyrs as they travel to Yan’an on behalf of relatives who sacrificed their lives during the Long March. Other passengers, inspired by the Long March spirit, have embarked on this red-themed journey across thousands of kilometers.

During the Long March, both Ruijin and Yan’an served as vital centers of China’s revolutionary cause. The Red Army soldiers crossed snow-capped mountains and vast grasslands, broke through successive enemy blockades and paved the way forward with blood and sacrifice. They fought to save a war-torn China and secure a life of independence and happiness for the people.

Today, those early aspirations have taken root. The poverty and isolation that once defined these regions have given way to vibrant communities and renewed economic vitality.

Ruijin has steadily cultivated distinctive industries, including precision manufacturing, design-focused toy production, and textiles, while continuously improving public services and living standards. In Yan’an, apple cultivation has evolved from a modest agricultural activity into a major economic pillar. Environmental restoration has accompanied this growth, lifting fruit farmers out of poverty and transforming the city into a thriving community characterized by ecological health, industrial vitality, and improved livelihoods. The development of Ruijin and Yan’an offers a vivid example of how former revolutionary base areas are revitalizing.

This transformation extends far beyond the two cities. Jinggangshan, an old revolutionary base in Jiangxi, has shaken off poverty by developing red tourism and leveraging its ecological resources. Xibaipo, also an old revolutionary base in north China’s Hebei province, is promoting the integrated development of agriculture, culture, and red tourism, improving the quality of life for residents. In the Dabie Mountains, seven counties and county-level cities across three provinces have formed an alliance to develop red tourism, charting a new course for regional growth. Across China, former revolutionary base areas are steadily advancing toward shared prosperity.

What has driven these transformations? The answer may lie in the roads themselves. A road construction plan dating back to 1933, preserved in Ruijin, reflects revolutionary forebears’ hopes for roads that would connect communities and bring peace and prosperity.

Today, an extensive network of national transportation corridors connects urban and rural areas and links mountains with the sea, reaching major revolutionary landmarks such as Ruijin, Zunyi in Guizhou province, and Yan’an. The vision of convenient travel for people and smooth flows of goods is steadily becoming a reality.

The transformation from having no way forward to a vast network of well-connected roads reflects more than improvements in physical infrastructure. At its heart is the vitality of the path China has chosen: one rooted in the country’s realities, attuned to the needs of the times and supported by its people. This path provides a solid foundation for revitalizing former revolutionary base areas and advancing national rejuvenation.

The roads have been paved, yet the march continues. China is embarking on a “new Long March,” with new challenges to overcome: repeated setbacks in laboratories, critical technological bottlenecks across industrial supply chains, and the many risks and challenges on the path to high-quality development.

The tougher the challenges, the more important it is to draw strength from the spirit of the Long March, a precious spiritual legacy. The Long March National Cultural Park extends across 15 provincial-level regions along the route of the epic expedition, bringing history to life at former revolutionary sites and helping visitors connect with Long March stories.

Here, history is no longer confined to static exhibits; it has become a living source of inspiration. By inspiring people through red-themed resources and passing the revolutionary legacy down through generations, China is forging a profound connection between the aspirations of the past and the achievements of today, drawing lasting spiritual strength for the “new Long March.”

By Shen Zhilin, People’s Daily

From satellite constellations in space to ground-based terminals, and from transport and emergency response to smart cities, agricultural production, and maritime navigation, China’s BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) has steadily expanded its global footprint in recent years. By strengthening industrial support capabilities and deepening its international reach, the system is providing new momentum for economic and social progress worldwide.

In July 2026, BDS completed a comprehensive in-orbit upgrade of its entire satellite constellation. “The upgraded system now provides nationwide real-time positioning at centimeter-level accuracy, alongside globally covered high-precision positioning featuring rapid convergence, “said Gou Ping, chairman of China Satellite Network Group Co., Ltd. “It also supports up to one billion connected terminals, including 100 million consumer devices and one million industrial units, all operating with sustained reliability.”

The delivery of high-precision, highly stable, and highly reliable positioning, navigation, and timing services across all environments forms the foundation for the large-scale application of the BDS.

Zhang Nu, chairman of China Time and Space Information Group Co., Ltd., said that more than 70 mobile phone models worldwide now support the BDS short-message communication function, with more than 450 million users having activated the service.

Looking ahead to the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), China will coordinate the deployment of space-based and ground-based navigation augmentation resources, and promote the integration of the BDS with low-Earth-orbit navigation augmentation systems, 5G and 6G, inertial navigation, LiDAR, vision-based technologies, and other sources of positioning and timing information. 

The goal is to build a multi-level, three-dimensional integrated positioning and navigation system, extending seamless positioning and timing services from outdoors to indoors and from the deep sea to deep space.

In Waigang township, Jiading district, Shanghai, a new model of intelligent farming is taking shape across more than 667 hectares of high-standard farmland. With support from BeiDou technology, various types of smart agricultural machinery are carrying out the entire rice production process, from plowing and planting to crop management and harvesting.

“Automatic navigation and driving systems for agricultural machinery equipped with next-generation BDS positioning terminals offer greater accuracy and more stable signals. They are already being used on farms in western and northern China,” said Liu Bolin, head of planning at Shanghai-based company ComNav Tech.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), the BDS-related industry grew by more than 53 percent. By late 2025, BDS applications had extended across key sectors, including transportation, energy, urban development, emergency response and disaster mitigation. The system is continuing to expand into new fields and application scenarios, such as the low-altitude economy, the marine economy, and cultural, sports and tourism events.

Consumer adoption is accelerating rapidly. “On Feb. 22 this year, Amap recorded one trillion BDS positioning requests in a single day, supporting a total daily navigation distance of 9 billion kilometers,” said Liu Zhenfei, chairman of Amap, a leading provider of digital maps in China.

China is improving policies to support and guide the industry, strengthening collaboration among industry, universities, research institutions and end users, and promoting coordinated development among upstream and downstream players and businesses of all sizes across the BeiDou industrial chain. 

Under the leadership of China Time and Space Information Group Co., Ltd. and other organizations, a new technical framework for short-message communication using space-time information has been released. It has helped reduce the cost of short-message chips by 70 percent and driven shipments of chips using the new framework to 50 million units.

As one of four global navigation satellite systems officially recognized by the United Nations, BeiDou-related hardware and software solutions have now reached more than 140 countries and regions worldwide.

“Space technology has increasingly become an important component of digital infrastructure and the digital economy,” said Chea Vandeth, Cambodia’s minister of post and telecommunications and chairman of the Digital Government Committee. Together with other global navigation systems, the BDS has enhanced the diversity, availability and resilience of global satellite-based positioning, navigation and timing services, the minister added.

Expanding the international application of the BDS on a larger scale and promoting international cooperation in satellite navigation serve the shared interests and aspirations of countries around the world.

Deep in the deserts of Saudi Arabia, Sinopec Geophysical Corporation, a subsidiary of China Petrochemical Corporation, is leveraging high-efficiency 3D seismic acquisition technology to help local oil firms explore for oil and gas resources.

“Every geophone point across thousands of square kilometers and each shot point for vibrator trucks demand high-precision positioning and time synchronization,” explained Wang Zhongwen, a production operations expert at the Sinopec BeiDou operation and service center. By integrating the BDS with spatio-temporal information terminals, the project has greatly boosted construction precision and operational efficiency, cutting the re-survey rate by 85 percent.

According to a 2026 report on the development of the BDS industry, compiled by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, BeiDou’s global outreach is shifting from a product-export model toward a comprehensive ecosystem approach that seamlessly integrates hardware, software solutions, managed services, and partner networks.