Guangzhou is the commercial city with more than a thousand years of history. However, due to the high proportion of traditional industries and the weak innovation ability, Guangzhou's overall service industry is in the downstream of the global value chain. Through the global innovation chain, Guangzhou can integrate global innovation resources and use global innovation factors to improve innovation service capabilities and industrial upgrading. This paper analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of Guangzhous innovative services. It proposes to change the traditional concept of commercial city, develop higher education in Guangzhou, absorb global talents and other innovative elements, accelerate the construction of global innovation chain, and integrate the value chain with the innovation chain. In addition, it is crucial for Guangzhou to improve the local science and technology market, build a support system for science and technology innovation in Guangzhou, build a science and technology innovation park in Guangzhou and a high-end industrial base, in order to turn Guangzhou into an international innovation city. (C) 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.