A new list of China’s best performing cities in economic terms puts the Sichuan province capital of Chengdu at the very top of the list.
California-based economic think tank the Milken Institute released its Best Performing Cities China Index for 2019 on 23 October.
The list is compiled based on the recent economic performance of Chinese cities, making reference to official data found in the China City Statistical Yearbook.
The 2019 list names Chengdu China’s best performing city for the third year in a row, highlighting the benefits provided by the Western Development strategy it launched two decades ago.
Chief amongst Chengdu’s current advantages are a solid industrial base, in combination with recent efforts to foster the development of its high tech sector.
According to the report Chengdu is in the process of transforming itself into a hi-tech industrial center of international standing, which is in turn further amplifying its regional economic influence.
“The Best Performing Cities China index for 2019 shows that innovation and advanced technologies are central to the transformation story of China’s cities, such as Shenzhen and Dongguan, and will continue to be for the future” said Perry Wong, managing director of research at the Milken Institute and report co-author.
“Guiyang, for example, is leading in building a ‘future’ city driven by renewable and clean energy.”
Shenzhen and Beijing took second and third place on the list of best performing cities in China, followed by Lanzhou in Gansu province, and Zhengzhou in Henan province.
Xi’an and Guiyang took sixth and seventh place respectively, followed by Changchun, Wuhan and Xiamen to round out the top ten.
The ranking index for this 2019 version made use of a total of nine indicators—one-year (2017-2018) and five-year (2013-2018) growth for jobs, wages, and gross regional product (GRP) per capita; three-year (2015-2018) foreign direct investment (FDI) growth; FDI/GRP ratio (2018); and the location quotient (LQ) for high value-added industry employment (2018).
