The impact of technology spillover sources on innovation performance has been studied intensively and extensively. But little research has been conducted on evaluating different technology spillover sources with a unified framework. Moreover, the role of universities and research institutes as alternative sources of technology in developing countries, including China, has been theoretically and empirically marginalized. This study presents a unified analysis framework of innovation performance with four technology spillover sources integrated, namely public R&D investments in universities and research institutes, inward foreign direct investment, technology import, and export activities. The impact of these technology spillover sources on innovation performance is compared using provincial data on Chinese high-tech industries. The results indicate that the role of public R&D differs across interior and coastal regions of China. Advanced technology from developed countries has not been effectively transferred to China through foreign direct investment. Technology import has a slight contribution to innovation performance. And export activities are found to play different roles across regions. Overall, the findings indicate that indigenous R&D efforts have laid down solid innovative capacity for Chinese high-tech industries.