In May 2023, we released the "China Regional Industrial Competitiveness Report", which constructed an evaluation system of 3 categories and 9 sub items. From the perspective of resource endowment and current performance, we provided a comprehensive evaluation of the industrial competitiveness of various provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government) in China (hereinafter collectively referred to as "regions"). On this basis, this article further focuses on the manufacturing industry, with the aim of forming a competitiveness matrix for analyzing the "region+industry", providing a basis for formulating differentiated regional industrial investment strategies, risk control strategies, etc.

This article focuses on comparing and evaluating the competitiveness of various regions in China's high-tech manufacturing industry. To this end, we have constructed an evaluation system from six dimensions: concentration ratio, profitability, debt level, growth, industrial chain position, and innovation capability, and applied it to four major high-tech manufacturing industries.

Based on the above evaluation system, we divide the comprehensive ranking of each region into five levels from A to E. The comprehensive competitiveness of each high-tech manufacturing industry in Level A is ranked as follows: pharmaceutical manufacturing industry: Beijing, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Fujian; Specialized equipment manufacturing industry: Jiangsu, Guangdong, Shanghai, Beijing, Zhejiang, Jiangxi; Computer, communication, and other electronic equipment manufacturing industries: Guangdong, Liaoning, Qinghai, Jiangsu, Beijing, Zhejiang; Instrument manufacturing industry: Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Shanghai, Beijing, Hubei. Among them, in the electronic equipment manufacturing industry, although Liaoning and Qinghai provinces have not yet formed industrial clusters with agglomeration advantages, they have ranked first in the country due to factors such as high profitability, high growth on a low base, or low debt.

In summary, firstly, major eastern economic provinces (cities) such as Shanghai, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Guangdong, and Beijing are all at the A-level of comprehensive competitiveness, with outstanding innovation advantages. However, some industries have poor profitability and debt levels. It is recommended to transfer some links within the industry to the central and western regions while maintaining innovation advantages, in order to improve profitability.

Secondly, the competitiveness of high-tech manufacturing industries in provinces such as Fujian and Shandong along the eastern coast and Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, Anhui, Jiangxi, and Henan in the central and western regions is showing a positive trend. It is recommended to pay attention to the stability of debt levels and increase the cultivation of leading enterprises and innovation drivers within the province.

Thirdly, the competitiveness of high-tech manufacturing in the Northeast region and some western provinces is relatively weak, mostly at the D and E levels. It is recommended to layout high-tech industries more prudently.