Shenzhen tops country’s software city ranking

Shenzhen secured the top position with a three-star rating among China’s prestigious cities of software in 2023, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced Tuesday.

Shenzhen has prioritized developing the software industry for a long time, and has been recognized as one of China’s pioneering software cities since November 2012.

In recent years, Shenzhen has dedicated extensive efforts to bolstering its software sector, focusing on the development of basic software, industrial software, and open source software. It has also accelerated building itself into a pioneer city of digital twin, ultra-fast broadband, digital energy, and general artificial intelligence. Shenzhen has become a hub and an export powerhouse for China’s software and information services.

The city recorded a total of 1,986 software enterprises with business turnovers exceeding 1 trillion yuan (US$139.68 billion) in 2022, representing 9.4% of the national total and ranking second among major cities in the country. Shenzhen’s software sector recorded an export value of US$22.73 billion, capturing 35.4% of China’s market share, ranking first in the country.

According to the city’s industry and information technology bureau, Shenzhen’s remarkable software industry development can be attributed to enhanced regulations, high-quality development of the real economy, technological innovation, sound ecosystem for software industry, and ever-improving business environment.

Of Shenzhen’s software business revenue, 50% comes from industrial enterprises. Leading smart terminal companies such as Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo have established their software R&D headquarters in Shenzhen. Shenzhen is at the forefront in the digitization of production equipment and popularization of digital R&D design tools in industries such as electronics, energy, and automobiles.

In 2022, Shenzhen’s overall R&D expenditure accounted for 5.49% of its GDP, with R&D expenditure by enterprises accounting for 94% of the total. The city is home to 23,000 high-tech enterprises, has the country’s second-most high-tech zones, and tops the country in PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) international patent applications.