Beijing slid to fourth place among the mainland's
most competitive cities this year, while southern powerhouses
Shenzhen and Guangzhou shot up, according to the annual ranking
published yesterday by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
The findings, which placed Shanghai in the top
spot, were unveiled by Ni Pengfei, who led 100 experts in preparing
the in-depth urban development report for the yearly "City
Competitiveness Blue Book."
Ni, a senior researcher with the top government
think-tank, also said the country's emerging industrial clusters, a
key source of city competitiveness, are a fount of solutions for
economic and social woes.
Since 2003, the academy has assessed cities’
competitiveness, gauging gross domestic product growth,
infrastructure building and employment among its main
indicators.
The ranking generates widespread attention and is a
reference for city planners and foreign investors.
This year, Ni's team factored in power and water
consumption as well as environmental pollution for the first time
to compile a ranking of "integrated competitiveness" among 200 of
the mainland's major cities.
The new factors pushed Shenzhen and Guangzhou ahead
of Beijing, to follow Shanghai at the head of the pack, though the
capital still led in terms of workforce, economic structure and
science and technology.
The report focused on the competitiveness of 50
leading cities, analyzing each one of these in detail and offering
remedies for any shortcomings identified.
For example, the in-depth report said Beijing is
not only lacking in natural resources and environment, but is as
far down as number 43 when it comes to protecting property rights,
market and private economic development and administrative
approval.
Ni said the next five years will be crucial for the
capital's development. "If it can proceed in a coordinated way in
infrastructure and services construction, and grasp the opportunity
of hosting the Olympic Games, Beijing can surely expect its overall
competitiveness to climb."
Shanghai scored the highest marks in capital,
infrastructure, location, culture and governance.
Except for Beijing, Changchun and Jinan, the
country's 20 most competitive cities are on the east coast, with
those in west and central China ranking very low on the list.
Another important finding was the emergence of
industrial clusters, which Ni claimed are becoming engines powering
the economy.
Geographically speaking, industrial clusters have
formed around booming cities and towns in northeast China,
Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Shandong Peninsula,
Jiangsu-Shanghai-Zhejiang and the Pearl River Delta in the south,
he said.
Cities such as Shenzhen and Guangzhou, where
industrial clusters have developed, also led in terms of per capita
income, Ni said.
With extensive case studies, the study shows how
industrial clusters absorb labor, speed up urbanization, narrow the
income gap between urban and rural areas, and help save energy.
"Therefore, with this report, we'd like to appeal
to the central authorities to prioritize development of industrial
clusters as a national strategy," said Ni.
Industrial clusters may also fill the vacuum left
behind by the elimination of preferential policies for development
zones following China's accession to the WTO.?
(China Daily March 18, 2005)