Abstract: The process of China's economic development in several ways resembles that of other East Asian countries. Some of these countries such as Japan and South Korea are already among the most creative and innovative in the world. But other developing countries, despite over twenty years of economic growth, have failed to achieve this transformation. This article uses several kinds of data to measure China's current creativity level and its improvement over time. The results indicate that while Chinese creativity has improved, along several dimensions China still emphasizes relatively marginal sorts of creativity, and neglects more influential yet riskier kinds.

Key words: Trends in Chinese creativity；domestic patents；research influence； entrepreneurship