Hangzhou tops EIU ranking of Chinese cities with highest economic potential

BEIJING, Sept.8 (Reuters) – China’s Hangzhou tech hub, home to e-commerce giant Alibaba (9988.HK), tops the Economist Intelligence Unit’s ranking of Chinese cities with the greatest growth potential economic over the next few years.

All of the top 10 cities are in eastern and southern China, with the exception of the capital Beijing, which ranks sixth, after Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Zhuhai. Suzhou, Hefei, Nanjing and Ningbo complete the list.

Cities in Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces are best positioned to benefit from China’s expected transition to a more technology-driven growth model during 2021-2025, EIU said, cities from Hangzhou, Nanjing and Suzhou to attract further huge influx of skilled workers.

In the government’s plan for 2021-2025, China will increase its annual research and development spending by more than 7% during the period, demonstrating its determination to advance in the technology sector and less rely on it. external expertise and know-how.

Some economists warn, however, that the high-tech boom in eastern and southern China will worsen the brain drain in the north, except for Beijing, and worsen north-south economic imbalances.

The EIU also said that smaller cities such as Zhuhai, near Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and Jiaxing, sandwiched between Shanghai and Hangzhou, will have good economic results due to positive spillover effects.

“With the government’s urbanization strategy increasingly focusing on creating city clusters, metropolitan areas, and industrial clusters, we are also advising businesses to pay particular attention to larger, multi-city urban geographies.” said Yue Su, senior economist for China at EIU.

China plans to build 10,000 kilometers (6,214 miles) of intercity and urban rail lines in 2021-2025 in the Yangtze River Delta to the east, the Great Bay region to the south and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region North.

It also aims to create more than 50 million new urban jobs during the period.

(This story corrects a typo in the first paragraph.)

Reporting by Ryan Woo; Editing by Kim Coghill

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