中國首次躋身全球最具創新力經濟體20強

China was among the top 20 most-innovative economies in the annual Global Innovation Index ranking published last Tuesday by Cornell University and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

美國康奈爾大學和世界知識產權組織上週二發佈年度《全球創新指數排行榜》，中國躋身最具創新力經濟體20強。

Switzerland retained its top place this year, followed by the Netherlands and Sweden. China climbed to 17th from 22nd place last year, according to the ranking.

今年瑞士仍高居榜首，荷蘭、瑞典緊隨其後。根據這份排行榜，中國從去年的第22升至第17。

The US slid from 4th spot in 2017 to 6th, though in absolute terms, the country remained the top contributor in key innovation inputs and outputs.

儘管從絕對數量上看，美國在覈心創新投入和產出方面仍位居第一，但其排名已由2017年的第4降至第6。

The US came second after China in the volume of researchers, patents and scientific and technical publications, according to the ranking.

美國在研究人員、專利和科技出版物數量方面位列第二，居中國之後。

WIPO Director General Francis Gurry said that China's rapid rise heralded "the arrival of multipolar innovation," reflecting "a strategic direction set from the top leadership to developing world-class capacity in innovation and to moving the structural basis of the economy to more knowledge-intensive industries that rely on innovation to maintain competitive advantage."

世界知識產權組織總幹事弗朗西斯·高銳稱，中國的快速提升預示着“創新多極化的到來”，反映出其領導層設定的戰略方向，以發展世界級創新能力並使經濟結構向知識密集型產業轉型，這些產業更依賴創新來保持競爭力。

Sean Randolph, the senior director of the Bay Area Council Economic Institute, told Xinhua that China has tremendous innovative capacity, and is moving quickly up the ladder.

舊金山灣區委員會經濟研究所主席肖恩·倫道夫在接受新華社採訪時表示，中國擁有巨大的創新能力，而且正在快速向上發展。

"There's great energy in the entrepreneurial community and growing access to venture capital and the quality of China's scientific research is also increasing," said Randolph.

倫道夫說：“創業團體有着巨大的能量，越來越多的人進入風險投資，中國的科研質量也在不斷提高。”