China is elevating its digital competitiveness on the world’s stage, according to the latest rankings from a Swiss academic institute, while those behind the findings caution that trade fragmentation is weighing on economies’ digital prowess globally.
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The world’s second-largest economy has reached an all-time high of 12th place among 69 economies in terms of overall performance, improving by two places from 2024, according to this year’s edition of the World Digital Competitiveness Ranking, published by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD).
The rise was driven by China’s top-10 performance in several subfactors under the “knowledge” and “technology” categories – two of the three key pillars used to measure a country’s digital competitiveness. The third category is “future readiness”.
China ranked third in “scientific concentration” – a subfactor under the “knowledge” category – topping the world in research and development productivity by publication, AI-related patent output, and the use of robots in education and research, according to the research findings published on Tuesday. This is the ninth year the institute has released its rankings.
China also ranked seventh globally in “capital”, which is under the “technology” category, supported by its second-place standing in artificial intelligence private investment.
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Hong Kong, which was assessed separately from the mainland, rose three places to fourth this year, driven by strong performances in talent and education.
Switzerland, the United States and Singapore were deemed the most digitally savvy economies due to their infrastructure, talent and innovation ecosystems, but IMD cautioned that this could be set to change, “as trade tensions are increasingly encroaching on data flows, technical standards and investment priorities”.