The China Economic Information Service recently released the 2024 list of China's top 100 counties (or county-level cities) for industrial research and development competitiveness, with Rugao ranking 13th.

Rugao has 637 national high-tech enterprises, one national corporate technology center, and four national-level science and technology business incubators. Each year, the city sees nearly 300 new industry-academy-research cooperation projects and research result commercialization initiatives, with its high-tech industry output accounting for 57.71 percent of the total.

The China Economic Information Service, affiliated with Xinhua News Agency, is one of the country's most authoritative and comprehensive economic information providers. Its industry insight team developed an evaluation system based on industrial R&D strength, technological concentration, and resources to assess regional competitiveness.