Shanghai: In recognition of its ability to leverage intellectual property rights to drive innovation, protect ideas and scale solutions, Shanghai has been declared one of the winners of the first WIPO City of Innovation award, which was announced by the World Intellectual Property Organization on Monday.
The other winners of the inaugural edition of the award from among 15 finalist cities are Liverpool in the United Kingdom and Charleroi in Belgium.
According to the WIPO, Shanghai has been recognized by an independent international jury for expanding IP education and services, opening innovation infrastructure and data, supporting cultural and creative industries, and strengthening connections between research, industry, entrepreneurs and investors.
Daren Tang, director-general of the WIPO, said that today, more than half of human lives in cities, a figure projected to reach 70 percent by 2050. “As urban populations surge, cities bring together people with different backgrounds, skills, experiences and aspirations, often sparking and stimulating new ideas. But true innovation demands ecosystems where IP protects new ideas, empowers innovators and enables solutions to scale from concept to reality,” he said. Zhou Yaming, deputy secretary-general of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, said the award represents the WIPO’s strong recognition of Shanghai’s innovative developments and its efforts to build a thriving IP ecosystem. “It also reflects the international community’s endorsement of China’s commitment to open innovation, mutual benefits and shared success,” Zhou said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency.
Multinational companies operating in Shanghai have long been impressed by the level and speed of innovation in the city.
Stefan Paul, CEO of Swiss logistics giant Kuehne+Nagel, said Shanghai mirrors the ongoing progress in China, with the level of digitalization and automation and the speed of innovation being “second to none”.
According to Bjoern Gulden, CEO of Adidas AG, the sportswear brand has a team of 160 designers working in Shanghai, which has autonomy in design and product development. A local team can significantly reduce development time and respond quickly to new consumer demands, he said.
Gulden added that Shanghai means more for the company. As an international hub for talents, universities and high-consumption activities, Shanghai is integral to the global expansion plans of Adidas. Therefore, the company will combine local consumption data with state-of-the-art technologies such as artificial intelligence to apply insights to manufacturing and new materials, he said.
Multinational manufacturing conglomerate ABB also applauded Shanghai’s pioneering efforts in the field of AI. Morten Wierod, the company’s CEO, is impressed by the city’s AI ecosystem covering computing power, models and applications. Shanghai’s ongoing digital and AI innovation will power its leap to become a “city of the future”, he said.
Roland Busch, CEO of Siemens AG, said that Shanghai has gained an upper hand in applying AI in innovative industrial service scenarios.
Along with integrated circuits and biomedicine, AI has been defined as one of the three leading industries in Shanghai since 2020. The manufacturing output value of the three industries grew 14.5 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2026.
In the first six months, Shanghai’s AI manufacturing output grew 21.8 percent year-on-year, and 1,945 AI invention patents were granted, up 64.79 percent from a year earlier.
The municipal government has been planning ahead. In September 2024, the municipal government launched a fund to support the development of six future-oriented industries — manufacturing, information technology, materials, energy, space and healthcare. Fully backed by the government fiscal budget, the fund’s initial scale stood at 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion). The six industries have been included in Shanghai’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) as part of its modern industrial framework.
According to John Waldron, president and chief operating officer of Goldman Sachs, attracting the world’s best talents is crucial to sustaining Shanghai’s innovation and growth momentum. The city should invest more resources to make the lives of residents more convenient, he added. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
