Shenzhen has replaced Beijing to become the most competitive city this year on the Chinese mainland, according to the annual city competitiveness rankings released by the country's top think tank Sunday.
The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) assessed the all-round competitiveness of 293 cities around the country last year and unveiled the "2013 City Competitiveness Blue Book" Sunday. The report concluded that Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Shanghai have become the most competitive cities in China. Last year, the top three were Hong Kong, Taipei and Beijing.
Moreover, the book points out that industrial clusters have had a "very clear" influence on cities' competitiveness, as evidenced by the fact that no cities based in western China are listed in the top 10.
"Of the top 10 cities viewed as having the strongest competitiveness, besides Hong Kong, Taipei and Macao, five are located in the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta in China's coastal east and south, and the other two are in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region," says the book.
In addition, the book also revealed that Hong Kong also ranked top in terms of livability, business-friendliness and cultural competitiveness compared to other Chinese cities.
The ranking, generated by CASS since 2003, has been long viewed as a reference for city development planners and foreign investors.
Copyright ©1999-2011 Chinanews.com. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
