China's financial capital Shanghai boasts the most innovative companies in China, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported.

Among the top 500 most innovative companies in China, 56 are headquartered in Shanghai, followed by Beijing and Shenzhen, with 50 and 39 of them respectively headquartered in these two cities.

Hangzhou in East China's Zhejiang province took the fourth place, claiming 30 headquarters of China's innovative firms, according to a report on China's listed companies' innovative index in 2021.

Guangzhou in South China's Guangdong province and Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu province, respectively grabbed the fifth and sixth positions on the list with 18 and 14 innovative companies' headquarters.

China's 2,384 A-share listed companies were chosen to be assessed in two dimensions which include innovation strength and innovation efficiency. Deep analysis on area, industry and investment portfolio returns were made on the top 500 companies in terms of innovation index in the report.

The report also elaborated on the characteristics and regional distribution of innovative companies, as well as whether there is a correlation between a company's innovation index and investment return.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a great impact on the global economy, resulting in a trend change in the restructuring of the global industrial chain.

Local Chinese enterprises not only have to face the challenges brought by the adjustment of business and product structure, but also have the opportunity to enter the global value chain. Innovation is a leveraged force for local Chinese manufacturers to seek growth opportunities.