Ni Pengfei, director of the Research Center for City and Competitiveness under the CASS.

For example, China's index of high-level talents stands at 8.3 percent of that of the US and 10 percent of that of Japan, clearly indicating a big gap in the human resources sector, the report said.

In the field of higher education, China's index is only 10 percent of that of the European Union and one third of the US, the report said.

Though China ranked 4th in higher education competitiveness in 2008, most of the first-class universities are still in the EU and the US, it said.

The report also said the country's science and technology competitiveness index is less than one third of that of the US.

There are 329 famous institutions of science and technology in the US, while China has only 61, the report said.

The report also predicted that China's cultural attractiveness, which ranked behind the EU, Japan and the US between 2004 and 2008, will continue increasing.

"We should think of a country's cultural power when talking about its national competitiveness," said Chen Shaofeng, deputy director of the cultural industries institute under Peking University.

The report suggested China makes more efforts to promote its international image to enhance its appeal and attractiveness.