Shanghai #1 in New Patents

Well, the Chinese have known for a few years that Innovation is a key issue in making the transition from a commodity supplier to a value added one, and here's some evidence that they're making serious progress. A freely downloadable report just issued by Joint Venture Silicon Valley puts Shanghai #1 in the world in terms of new patents issued, and #2 in patents per capita (Tokyo was #1). Given that it takes a few to many years from the completion of basic research that is patentable to new products and services in the market, the pipeline is now primed.

Keep your eyes open, and we'll soon see if the Chinese develop their abilities in marketing to keep up with the technical innovations.