Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen are serving as focal points for the formation of prosperous urban clusters, and these areas can support the emergence of other such clusters around China's aspiring cities to promote coordinated regional development, a report released by consulting firm PwC showed on Tuesday.
The report said cities such as Hangzhou in East China's Zhejiang Province, Wuhan in Central China's Hubei Province, Nanjing in East China's Jiangsu Province, Chengdu in Southwest China's Sichuan Province and Xiamen in East China's Fujian Province are now the crucial drivers of China's urban development.
The report covered 30 Chinese cities and reviewed each of them from 10 dimensions using 57 variables.
Beijing was No.1 in five metrics: intellectual capital and innovation; technical maturity; health, safety and public security; transportation and urban planning, and economic clout. These findings showed the capital's role as a political and cultural center.
Shanghai was No.2 with high scores, especially in the ease of doing business.
Shenzhen stood out in transportation and urban planning and the ease of doing business, while Guangzhou exceeded Shenzhen in terms of its total ranking among major regional cities and economic clout.
