Interface News Reporter | Fan Yicheng
Interface News Editor | Peng Peng
html On August 28, at the 2nd Shenzhen Industrial Science and Technology Innovation Forum, the Shenzhen Industry Research Institute of Shanghai Jiao Tong University officially released the "China's Large and Strong Cities Index (2nd Edition)" Report", six cities in the Yangtze River Delta region, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Suzhou, Ningbo, and Wuxi, entered the top ten."China's Big Cities and Strong Cities Index is a supplement and improvement to the city's GDP rankings, just like the United Nations Human Development Index is a supplement and improvement to the GDP rankings of various countries." Chen Xian, chief expert of the report research team and professor at Antai School of Economics and Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University pointed out that the value of China’s Big Cities and Strong Cities Index is that while paying attention to the total urban economy, it also focuses on the efficiency, strength and potential of the urban economy, as well as people’s livelihood conditions, and provides the political, industry and academic circles with a way to observe the quality of China’s urban economic development. "window".
Interface News reporter learned that the China Big City Strong City Index was jointly compiled by the Shenzhen Industry Research Institute of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the China Development Research Institute. It is based on labor productivity, land productivity, capital productivity, invention patent authorization per 10,000 people, talent ratio, tens of billions Ten indicators include the number of enterprises with a market value (sales revenue) of RMB 100 and above, the level of urban digital development, per capita disposable income, the ratio of days with good ambient air quality, and per capita general public budget expenditures to comprehensively evaluate the level of urban development.
According to Chen Xian, the second version of the index released this time added 4 indicators to the original 6 indicators, and made adjustments to individual indicators. The first five indicators of the new indicator system reflect the contributions of labor, land, capital, technology and human capital respectively. The two newly added indicators "number of enterprises with a market value of 10 billion yuan and above" and "urban digital development level" respectively reflect the results of the empowerment of entrepreneurs and management elements in the urban economy and the contribution of urban data elements.
The last three indicators mainly reflect the urban economy, people's livelihood and environmental status. "Per capita disposable income" can directly reflect residents' living standards, "ratio of days with good ambient air quality" reflects the state of the urban ecological environment from an important aspect, and "per capita general public budget expenditure" can reflect the level of urban public service provision.
It is understood that the total GDP of 500 billion yuan can be regarded as the "threshold" of a big city and the starting point of a strong city. In the first edition of the China Big Cities and Strong Cities Index released in 2021, there are 54 cities with a total GDP of more than 500 billion yuan, including 24 cities with a trillion GDP; in the second edition of the index released this time, there are 54 cities with a total GDP of more than 500 billion yuan. There are 59 cities in total, the 5 new cities are Ordos , Huizhou, Zhenjiang, Guiyang and Huai'an, there are 26 cities with trillions of GDP, and the 2 new cities are Yantai and Changzhou.
Picture source: "China's Large and Strong Cities Index (2nd Edition) Report"
The top 10 cities in the "China's Large and Strong Cities Index (2nd Edition)" are Shenzhen, Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Wuhan, Suzhou, Ningbo, Wuxi. Shenzhen jumped from No. 3 in the previous round to No. 1. Shanghai and Beijing, which were tied for No. 1 in the previous round, ranked No. 2 and No. 3 respectively this time. Chen Xian pointed out that the change in the ranking not only shows Shenzhen's development in recent years, but also shows the index's emphasis on the economy. "The performance of GDP is certainly important, but we also take into account indicators such as the environment and people's livelihood."
Statistics show that in the first half of 2024, Shenzhen's import and export increased by 31.7% year-on-year, totaling 2.2 trillion yuan, ranking first in China's foreign trade city. Last year, Shenzhen's total social R&D investment accounted for 5.81% of GDP, much higher than the national average.
Image source: "China's Large and Strong Cities Index (2nd Edition) Report"
Watching the full report, you can find that a large number of cities in the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta performed well. Comparing the two major economic circles, Chen Xian told Jiemian News reporters that the advantage of the Yangtze River Delta is relatively balanced economic development. In this report, 19 cities are from the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, the largest number among the three major economic circles. There are many strong cities in Zhejiang and Jiangsu with a high average level of development. In the Pearl River Delta region, there is a big gap between Zhongshan and Jiangmen on the west bank of the Pearl River and Dongguan and other places on the east bank.
Chen Xian believes that the characteristics of cities in the Pearl River Delta region are strong economic vitality and high economic density. Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Foshan, and Dongguan all have GDPs above one trillion, their economic performance is very good, and strategic emerging industries are developing rapidly. Shenzhen, in particular, has many leading companies in emerging industries.
Picture source: "China's Large and Strong Cities Index (2nd Edition) Report"
The report shows that the total GDP of the 59 cities on the list accounts for about 60% of the national GDP. "These cities have made a great contribution to China's overall economic growth. There is no doubt that strong cities play a 'locomotive' role in stimulating economic development." Chen Xian said.
