Hangzhou in Zhejiang province has ranked 13th among the world's top 100 innovation clusters for the second consecutive year, according to the 2026 Global Innovation Index released by the World Intellectual Property Organization on Sept 8.

The city also rose to 20th globally in innovation intensity, up from 25th in 2025. The ranking measures innovation activity based on international patent applications, scientific publications, and venture capital deals.

Over the past five years, Hangzhou recorded 11,309 Patent Cooperation Treaty applications, 92,832 scientific publications, and 3,047 venture capital deals. It is one of only two Chinese cities, along with Beijing, to rank among the world's top 25 in both innovation clusters and innovation intensity.

By July, the city had 238,000 valid invention patents, the highest among China's provincial capitals for 18 consecutive years.

The city is also accelerating intellectual property commercialization, with patent licensing reaching 26,000 transactions in 2025, while intellectual property-backed financing totaled 59.9 billion yuan ($8.92 billion). By June, 16,700 data intellectual property rights had been registered, with transactions reaching 2.46 billion yuan.

Hangzhou has also strengthened intellectual property protection and services, including overseas support for companies.

With 69 national intellectual property demonstration enterprises and more than 3,000 recognized strong intellectual property enterprises, Hangzhou is building an integrated system covering intellectual property creation, commercialization, protection, and services.