On the list of Top 100 Chinese Cities in 2016 released on October 20 in Shanghai, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, again, rank the top three respectively with a score of 93.48, 89.73 and 84.06, followed by Shenzhen, Tianjin, Chengdu, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Chongqing and Wuhan.

 

Compared with the list in 2015, there is no change in the rankings of the top 5 cities. However, the gap between cities like Shenzhen and Tianjin and cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou is shrinking. It is the same five cities ranking sixth to tenth, with change in rankings. For example, Chengdu that ranked the tenth in 2015 ranks the sixth this year, while Hangzhou that ranked the ninth last year now ranks the eighth. Tongliao (the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region) still ranks the 100^th.

 

It was for the second time that Warton Economics Institute made and released the annual list of Top 100 Chinese Cities, which is composed of two major indicator systems, namely the economic indicator system and the non-economic (soft economic) indicator system, with data sourced from the National Bureau of Statistics. The economic indicators include GDP and residents’ savings, accounting for 61.8%, while the non-economic (soft economic) indicators include those concerning education and science, culture, health and ecology, accounting for 38.2%.

 

According to Shen Hanyao, president of Warton Economics Institute, compared with statistics only by economic indicators, the composite indicator system is able to evaluate the regional construction and development in terms of politics, economy, society, culture and ecology in a more comprehensive and scientific way.

 

The economic indicators consist of gross indicators and per capita indicators, reflecting the trend to seek a bigger and stronger development of cities. For example, when evaluated only by total GDP, Shanghai ranks first. However, by per capita GDP, Beijing ranks the first.

 

The use of soft economic indicators is to encourage the Chinese cities to devote themselves to continuous optimization. The list shows that the development of some cities has been lagged behind in terms of soft economic indicators. For example, only by economic indicators, Shenzhen ranks fourth, while by non-economic indicators, it ranks 20^th.

 

In addition, Shen Hanyao said that there is obvious polarization among the Chinese cities. Shandong, Jiangsu, Guangdong and Zhejiang have highlighted advantages. Shandong has 15 cities on the list, becoming the province with the most cities on the list. Jiangsu, Guangdong and Zhejiang respectively have thirteen, nine and eight cities on the list. On the other hand, Hainan, Qinghai, Tibet and Ningxia have no cities on the list.

 

Analysis of proportion of cities on the list of a province (municipality, autonomous region) indicated that, Jiangsu has a very balanced development with all of its 13 cities on the list. Shandong and Zhejiang respectively have two and three cities not on the list, showing quite balanced development. Guangzhou shows a very unbalanced development, with Guangzhou and Shenzhen ranking 3^rd and 4^th and 12 prefecture-level cities not on the list.

 

There was fierce competition for the rankings of the Top 100 Chinese Cities, because many cities have a fast development. Compared with that in 2015, 54 cities moved up, while 26 cities moved down and 16 cities maintained their places. Moreover, there are four cities newly appearing on the list: Zunyi (82^nd), Xinxiang (89^th), Chenzhou (97^th) and Suqian (99^th).

 

Source: Translated from Invest Guangzhou, October 20, 2016