Abstract: According to the WEF evaluation system, nowadays China has not fully met the conditions for implementing innovation-driven development. However, the imbalance in development of regional economy in China determines that special economies in certain regions might take the lead in satisfying innovation-driven conditions and would drive the leaping development of related regions through implementation of innovation. This provides a theoretical basis and realistic possibility for China to implement innovation-driven development in areas lacking in S&T resources. According to the thoughts above, this paper focuses on the analysis of essence and connotation of "scarcity of S&T resources" and "innovation-driven development". Based on these results, we answer the questions of whether innovation-driven development could be implemented in areas lacking in S&T resources, why innovation should be implemented in areas lacking in S&T resources and how to effectively implement innovation-driven development.

Key words: regions lacking in S&T resources, innovation-driven development, the path of innovation-driven development, competitiveness