ABSTRACT
The Greater Bay Area (GBA) is the focus of China's regional innovation system efforts because of its past economic performance and its demonstrated ability to innovate. The intention is to amplify the region's capacities by bringing its companies, universities, governments, capital and other assets together. The GBA is emerging as a regional innovation system because it has most of the assets as well as the potential for improving relations and delivering more and better innovation. Its assets are being drawn into relationships by the innate incentives of companies and universities to work together and by incentives introduced by the government. Among the more interesting characteristics of regional innovation systems are the cultures and interpersonal networks that evolve with economic and technological development and are a key requirement for enhancing competition and collaboration. An important feature of a strong regional innovation system is building or strengthening relationships with knowledge-creating institutions—especially universities, but also other types of research institutes.
