(Yicai Global) Dec. 28 -- Beijing poured more money into research and development than any other Chinese city last year.

China’s capital splurged CNY262.9 billion (USD37.7 billion) to support innovation in 2021, much more than the other 15 cities whose expenditures topped CNY40 billion (USD5.7 billion), according to data published by city governments.

Shanghai ranked second at CNY182 billion and Shenzhen was third at CNY168.2 billion.

The top two were no surprise, as Beijing and Shanghai are home to top-flight universities, many scientific research bodies, several big companies’ headquarters and core R&D bases, while their developed financial sectors ensure funding.

Outlays on R&D in Beijing have risen 10.6 percent a year since 2012. Last year, the city's spending on basic scientific research alone reached nearly CNY42.3 billion, accounting for about a quarter of the whole country’s.

Shenzhen may have fewer renowned higher education institutions than Beijing and Shanghai, but the southeastern city, home to telecoms giant Huawei Technologies, has the highest density of firms in high-tech and emerging fields.

The second tier of high R&D spenders includes Suzhou (CNY88.9 billion), Guangzhou (CNY88.2 billion), Hangzhou (CNY66.7 billion), and Chengdu (CNY63.2 billion). Wuhan and Chongqing are the two other cities that invested over CNY60 billion each in innovation last year.

Suzhou beat Guangzhou, one of the country's four first-tier cities, because it has attracted more colleges in recent years and Suzhou also has quite a developed manufacturing sector, involving biomedicine, integrated circuits, artificial intelligence, and other advanced technologies, Ding Changfa, associate economics professor at Xiamen University, told Yicai Global.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi