When it comes to boosting innovation, the resource-heavy Chinese cities are not doing as well as others, according to a Beijing-based government think tank.
A new report on technological innovation among Chinese cities was released on Saturday by the Capital Institute of Science and Technology Development Strategy (CISTDS) in Beijing.
The report ranked 289 Chinese cities according to their ability to boost innovation, and provided their own opinions on what the cities should do in the future.
There are two types of cities that are not doing particularly well.
"You may think the western region of China is not so good with innovation. But according to our data, the middle region is where we should pay more attention to," Guan Chenghua, head of CISTDS, said while releasing the report.
"Cities with a handful of natural resources are also struggling," he added.
The ranking
Top 10 cities on the list are Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Wuhan, Suzhou, Tianjin, Hangzhou and Xi'an.
Though top-ranked, the capital city is not providing a satisfying environment for innovation, the report said.
"It's worth noting that Beijing ranked only 45th when it comes to the environment. Things like foreign invests, tax burden, air quality and number of teachers can still be greatly improved," said Lu Zhongyuan, former deputy head of the national think tank.
"Another point I want to make is, the government needs to be careful about the market," Lu added.
"You need to treat different kinds of innovations accordingly. When the economy is heading down, don't try to stimulate everything. On the other hand, when the market is getting better, don't limit all of them."
This point was echoed by Nannan Lundin, the innovation counselor at the Swedish embassy in Beijing.
"Sweden used to be a resource-heavy economy but now it's known as an innovation hub," she said.
She detailed how Sweden is trying to promote innovation domestically. And one of the most important rule is that all innovations are not equal.
The CISTDS report has been released annually since 2011. It has been taken various municipal governments as an important measurement on innovations.