Guangdong maintained its position as a national leader in six major areas of sci-tech innovation during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025). By 2025, the province's regional innovation capacity has ranked first in China for nine consecutive years. Throughout the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Guangdong continued to lead the country in major scientific and technological innovation indicators, including R&D expenditure, the number of high-tech enterprises, the number of valid invention patents, the number of Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) international patent applications, revenue from high-tech manufacturing, and exports of high-tech products.
In 2024, Guangdong's R&D expenditure reached 510 billion yuan, with an average annual growth rate of nearly 10%. The province was home to more than 77,000 high-tech enterprises. It recorded 792,300 valid invention patents and 23,400 PCT international patent applications, accounting for one-third of the national total. Revenue from high-tech manufacturing reached 6.29 trillion yuan, and high-tech product exports totaled 256.74 billion US dollars, both accounting for one-third of the national total.
Guangdong also achieved a number of major breakthroughs that ranked first in China during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. Innovation platforms achieved stronger synergy. Guangming Science City produced more than 50 major achievements in original innovation, while Nansha Science City attracted over 1,300 high-tech enterprises, an increase of 92% compared with 2020.
A cluster of major scientific and technological infrastructure also rose to prominence. Phase I of the China Spallation Neutron Source has supported more than 2,200 scientific research projects. The High Intensity Heavy-ion Accelerator Facility achieved full beam commissioning in October this year. After commencing data collection, the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory released its first physics results, improving the precision of neutrino oscillation measurements by 1.5 to 1.8 times compared with the previous best international benchmark.
Integration of industry and sci-tech innovation yielded substantial results. In 2024, the province's core AI industries exceeded 220 billion yuan, growing by around 25% year-on-year. In the low-altitude economy sector, China's first production-grade wind tunnel for low-altitude aircraft was put into operation.
Since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan, Guangdong has added 635,800 newly granted invention patents and 116,900 new PCT international patent applications. By the end of the period, the province held 867,800 valid invention patents and 394,400 high-value invention patents. It also received 1,095 China Patent Awards, including 36 China Patent Gold Awards. All of these key indicators ranked first in China.
广东亮出“十四五”科创家底
“十四五期间，广东科创保持“六个继续领先”。2025年，广东区域创新综合能力连续9年位居全国首位；“十四五”期间，全省研发经费投入、高新技术企业数量、发明专利有效量、PCT国际专利申请量、高技术制造业营收和高技术产品出口等主要科技创新指标继续保持全国首位。
2024年，全省研发经费投入达5100亿元，年均增长近10%；高新技术企业超7.7万家；发明专利有效量79.23万件；PCT国际专利申请量2.34万件，占全国1/3；高技术制造业营收62887.83亿元，高技术产品出口2567.4亿美元，均占全国1/3。
“十四五”期间，广东多项重大成果居全国首位。创新空间载体联动成势。光明科学城已取得50余项重大原创成果；南沙科学城集聚高新技术企业1300多家、较2020年增长92%。
重大科技基础设施集群崛起。中国散裂中子源一期已支撑完成超2200项科研课题；强流重离子加速器今年10月实现束流全线贯通；江门中微子实验站运行取数后发布首个物理成果，中微子振荡测量精度较此前国际最好水平提升1.5至1.8倍。
产业科技融合成果丰硕。2024年，全省人工智能核心产业规模超2200亿元，同比增长约25%。低空经济领域，国内首个低空生产型风洞已投入使用。
“十四五”以来，全省新增发明专利授权量63.58万件、新增PCT国际专利申请量11.69万件，期末发明专利有效量86.78万件，高价值发明专利拥有量39.44万件，其间获得“中国专利奖”1095项，其中金奖36项，以上关键指标均位居全国第一。
文丨记者 王倩 黎秋玲
翻译丨曾敏
审校丨林佳岱
