The Greater Bay Area's innovation and technology ratio and Hong Kong's R&D spending as a percentage of GDP are the second lowest. The data is leading

In recent years, the government has been determined to develop innovation and technology, and has actively participated in the construction of an international technology innovation center in the Greater Bay Area.

However, the data shows that the ratio of Hong Kong's R&D expenditure to gross domestic product (GDP) ranks second among the 11 cities in the Greater Bay Area.

On the other hand, the ratio of total R&D spending to GDP in Shenzhen has surpassed that of Germany, Japan and South Korea.

However, Hong Kong still tops the Greater Bay Area in one statistic.

In the national "14th Five-Year Plan", it clearly supports Hong Kong in building an international innovation and technology center, and strengthens the cooperation relationship between Hong Kong and the mainland in science and technology.

According to a new data perspective from the Legislative Council, cities in the Greater Bay Area have been increasing their investment in R&D in recent years, of which Shenzhen is the most active. In 2020, the total expenditure on R&D activities will account for more than 5% of GDP, surpassing Germany (3.1%) and Japan (3.6%). %) and South Korea (4.6%) in developed economies.

As for Hong Kong's R&D expenditure during the same period, it only accounted for 0.99% of GDP, ranking last in the ranking.

The increase in R&D spending has resulted in a continuous increase in the number of invention patents.

In 2020, the total number of invention patents in the Greater Bay Area will reach about 366,000, far more than in San Francisco, New York and Tokyo Bay Area.

However, the document also pointed out that there is still room for improvement in the overall quality of patents, as compared with the “patent citation ratio” (Note: the number of citations of a patent divided by the number of patents; the higher the value, the higher the economic value and influence), 2016 From 2020 to 2020, the ratio of the Greater Bay Area remained at a low level of 1.04, which is still some distance away from the San Francisco Bay Area.

The key to improving the quality of inventions is to strengthen basic research, and research institutions are more dominant in basic research, and the university environment is the most suitable.

The document mentioned that Hong Kong has advantages in this regard. First, the proportion of higher education institutions in R&D expenditure is higher than that of other cities in the Greater Bay Area. In 2020, the relevant proportion in Hong Kong will reach 52%, which is higher than that of Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

In addition, many local universities in Hong Kong are ranked high in their research and development capabilities. According to the 2021 QS World University Rankings, Hong Kong is the only city in the region with the world's top 100 universities. Engineering-related disciplines also rank higher.

The document points out that Hong Kong and mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area have their own advantages in basic research and applied scientific research, and there is room for cooperation and development.

However, a survey conducted by the University of Hong Kong in 2021 found that 90% of high-tech enterprises in the Pearl River Delta region have never used technical support from Hong Kong.