According to the "Administrative Measures for the Recognition of High-tech Enterprises" promulgated by the state in 2008, high-tech enterprises in China generally refer to resident enterprises (居民企业) that continuously conduct research and development with technological achievement transformation within the scope of the "National Key Supported High-tech Fields" issued by the state, form core independent intellectual property rights, and operate based on such achievements. These enterprises represent knowledge-intensive and technology-intensive economic entities.
Under the influence of China's "Innovation-Driven Development Strategy," various regions have accelerated the cultivation of high-tech enterprises to foster new advantages in innovative development. Data shows that from 2010 to 2019, the number of high-tech enterprises in China maintained an annual growth rate above 15%, with particularly rapid growth exceeding 25% during the 13th Five-Year Plan period. In 2019, the number reached 218,500, representing a 26.9% year-on-year increase. By 2020, statistics from the State Taxation Administration indicated that the total number of national high-tech enterprises was expected to reach 275,000.
In the knowledge economy era, high-tech industries have increasingly become core drivers of technological advancement and economic growth. As crucial entities promoting industrial transformation and technological innovation, the development of high-tech enterprises not only enhances the technological value-added of traditional industries and improves the efficiency of national economic operations, but also radiates positive spillover effects to drive regional progress across multiple domains.
To support related research, CnOpenData presents the China High-tech Enterprise List dataset. This data covers high-tech enterprises from 31 provincial-level administrative regions and 5 separately listed cities (计划单列市), comprising nearly 370,000 enterprises. It includes fields such as certification year (认定年份), batch (批次), pre/post-change enterprise names (变更前后企业名称), renaming time (更名时间), and qualification status (资质状态).
Time Coverage
2008-2023
Field Display
Sample Data
Relevant Literature
- Liu Qiren, Long Jianxiong, Zhang Zhanhui et al., 2023: "Tax Incentives, R&D Expenditure, and Export Performance: A Bunching Analysis Based on High-tech Enterprise Certification Reform," China Industrial Economics 4.
- Qiu Yangdong, Tao Feng, 2021: "Effectiveness Evaluation of High-tech Enterprise Certification Policy," Economic Perspectives 2.
- Josh L. and Amit S., 2021: "The Use and Misuse of Patent Data: Issues for Finance and Beyond," The Review of Financial Studies.
Data Update Frequency
Annual updates