Cornell University, The Business School for the World and the World Intellectual Property Organization have published the 2016 Global Innovation Index. For the first time, China ranks among the top 25 on the list of the world’s top innovative economies.

China is the first middle-income country to enter the top 25. Francis Gurry, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization, praised China's performance in making it onto the list.

"It's an extraordinary performance first of all, because let's remember that China is an enormous country, huge country , so transformation is an enormously complex process. "This is the result of many years of course effort, it's not just something that happened in the last 12 months," Francis Gurry, director general of World intellectual Property Organization, said.

China has moved up four places on the Global Innovation Index from 29th one year ago. Due to the long-term nature of innovation efforts, the countries ranking in the top 30 are seen as stable and are in general wealthy, developed countries or highly industrialized. China joining the list has a significant impact on the GII.

"So when you look at our index, you'll find the first, the top ranking countries, Switzerland, the second top is Sweden, then there is United Kingdom, United States, and then you go to Finland, Singapore. So, what is one of the characteristics of this? Small economies, cause it's easier to achieve," Gurry said.

In terms of innovation quality, countries like Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany are all at the top of the list. China has moved to 17th place globally and becomes the leader amongst many middle-income countries, including India and Brazil.