China High-tech Cities Shenzhen— Becoming An International Hub of Hardware Innovation Shenzhen has ranked No.1 for 13 years. R&D Spending in Shenzhen tops 80 billion yuan, accounts for 4.1% of GDP, putting it on a par with South Korea and Israel, In 2016, the number of PCT(Patent Cooperation which hold the world’s top-two positions in terms of investment Treaty) applications by Shenzhen is 19,648, in R&D, according to the OECD. accounts for 46% of national applications. Source: The Intellectual Property Office of Guangdong Province, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Beijing; The Statistics Bureau of related cities