On November 16, the Nature Index 2025 Science Cities and the Global Innovation Hubs Index 2025 (GIHI 2025) were released at the Forum on Global Innovation Hubs and Science Cities, which is part of a series of events commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Center for Industrial Development and Environmental Governance (CIDEG) at Tsinghua University. According to the Nature Index 2025 Science Cities, Beijing has retained its position as the world's top city in terms of sci-tech research for the ninth consecutive year.

Since 2016, Beijing has been leading the rankings of the Nature Index Science Cities. The latest report evaluates the changes in scientific output of major global cities and metropolitan areas in high-quality journals recognized by the Nature Index in 2024. For the first time, Chinese cities accounted for more than half of the global top 10, with Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Wuhan, and Hangzhou all making the list.

The report also examines the performance of the participating cities across five major fields: chemistry, physical sciences, earth and environmental sciences, life sciences, and health sciences. Chinese cities dominated the rankings in chemistry, physical sciences, and earth and environmental sciences. Notably, for the first time, the top 10 cities in chemistry were all in China, while in the other two fields, six Chinese cities ranked among the top 10, with Beijing ranking first in all the three rankings.

As the world's leading sci-tech research hub, Beijing also demonstrated strong performance according to the GIHI 2025, ranking third for four consecutive years and joining San Francisco-San José and New York in the top tier.

The Global Innovation Hubs Index, launched in 2020, tracks global innovation trends across three dimensions (scientific center, innovation hub, and innovation ecosystem) and evaluates 125 cities worldwide. This year's report indicates that Chinese cities' advantages in the global innovation landscape continue to accrue. In 2025, Beijing topped the scientific center category for the first time, primarily driven by the steady expansion of its research teams and the increasing influence of its scientific publications in society and relevant industries.

(Source: Beijing Daily)