With new growth drivers gathering momentum and injecting impetus for high-quality development, China Innovation Index (CII), a barometer of China's innovation capability, climbed 5.9 percent compared to the previous year to hit 155.7 in 2022, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The CII has grown at an average annual rate of 6.5 percent since 2015, the base year, said the NBS.

"The emerging economy, which is spearheaded by new industries and businesses, has grown into a major driver for economic transformation and upgrading, and for energizing the economy," said Li Yin, a statistician with the NBS.

Encompassing four sub-indices, the index measures innovation environment, input, output and effects.

All sub-indices climbed in 2022, with the sub-index for innovation output rising 9.2 percent from the previous year. A total of 798,000 invention patents were authorized in China in 2022, 2.2 times the number recorded in 2015, the NBS data revealed.

(With input from Xinhua)