Chinese Cities of Opportunity 2023

Forging Ahead on a New Journey: Opportunities and Cooperation

The development and changes of cities bear many imprints of social and economic development, as well as production and life. The achievements from development and experience accumulated at each historical stage guide us in finding development opportunities in the new development cycles. As we moved into 2023, the challenges and uncertainties of external circumstances still exist, the current focus for Chinese cities is to seek sound development opportunities and explore the potential for economic recovery and growth. In the long run, after accomplishing the initial goal of urbanisation, Chinese cities are now entering a new stage of high-quality development. This gives play to the driving role of leading cities in the urban clusters, hence promoting balanced and coordinated development among different areas, encouraging discussions on issues such as green and low carbon development and digital transformation of cities will be the focus of attention in the new development cycle.

‘Chinese Cities of Opportunity 2023’ provides a comprehensive observation of Chinese cities from 10 dimensions and 50 variables. From the observation results, the overall performance of the cities still depends on their accumulated development and comprehensive performance in all dimensions. Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou continue to maintain their leading positions among Chinese cities, with Hangzhou, Nanjing, Wuhan, Suzhou, Chengdu and Tianjin following closely in the top ten. Hangzhou and Nanjing have outstanding advantages in terms of balanced development, with their performance in seven and eight dimensions entering the top ten respectively. Wuhan has maintained its strong momentum of development and ranks in the top ten in many dimensions, for example in "intellectual capital". Suzhou ranks in the top five in terms of "technology and innovation", "transportation and urban planning", "culture and quality of life" and "ease of doing business", reflecting their developmental advantages of being a quality living circle with excellent public services for living and working. Chengdu and Chongqing rank in the top five in terms of "major regional cities", and both in the top ten in terms of “economic clout”, reflecting the rapid improvement of the level of development of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle. Tianjin's performance is comparable to its overall ranking in several dimensions, and its development trend is balanced and stable. For conciseness, we will only briefly comment on the top cities in the overall ranking. Please refer to the text for more insights on specific dimension rankings and analysis.

Top 5 cities by dimensions: