Reference News Network, August 1st report: The Hong Kong South China Morning Post website published an article titled "Which Chinese cities are the most dynamic? The new report gives an unexpected answer" on July 30th. The translation is as follows:

According to a new report by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the most dynamic local economies in China are found in cities such as Hangzhou and Hefei, which are less internationally renowned. This reflects profound changes in China's economic landscape: as emerging industries such as advanced manufacturing and clean energy rise, some smaller cities have become important engines of growth.

The Economist Intelligence Unit's annual report ranks Chinese cities based on their growth potential. Hangzhou, an eastern Chinese city that is home to e-commerce giant Alibaba, artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek, and other major tech companies, has consistently ranked first for several years. Following closely behind are Hefei, known for its semiconductor and electric vehicle industry clusters, and Chengdu, an industrial hub in the southwest.

Economists wrote in the report that the rankings capture trends such as the rise of Chinese manufacturing. Many top-ranked cities have benefited from the prosperity of China's advanced manufacturing sector, achieving strong economic growth over the past two years and attracting population inflows.

The report's authors stated that Hangzhou has established itself as a leader in the artificial intelligence race, driven by major companies like DeepSeek, and has leveraged its advantages in advanced manufacturing.

This city is the birthplace of the famous "Hangzhou Six Small Dragons"—a group of highly acclaimed technology startups in the area, including DeepSeek, humanoid robot manufacturer Yushu Technology, and Qiangnai Technology, which develops brain-computer interfaces.

In Zhejiang Province, where Hangzhou is located, local governments place great emphasis on supporting high-tech enterprises. Recently, the province issued a draft action plan aimed at accelerating local innovation, proposing that by 2027, newly listed companies in the technology sector will account for more than 80% of all newly listed companies.

At the same time, the Economist Intelligence Unit's report pointed out that both Hefei and Chengdu have made bold strategic investments in basic technologies to drive urban development.

Hefei has heavily invested in Yangtze Memory Technologies, a leading company in dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), which is seen as a key hope for China to compete with South Korea and the United States in the memory chip sector. Chengdu has also invested in HiSilicon Technologies Co., Ltd., a chip company.

The report's authors said that these investments have brought considerable returns to the two cities and laid the foundation for building a broader industrial ecosystem with surrounding cities. In the first quarter of this year, the metropolitan area encompassing Chengdu, Deyang, Meishan, and Ziyang has become one of the fastest-growing regions in the country.

The report also noted that China's efforts to vigorously develop clean energy have injected strong growth momentum into smaller cities with a foundation in renewable energy technology manufacturing. For example, XinYu and Yichun in Jiangxi Province have benefited from the surge in demand for lithium in the electric vehicle and energy storage industries.

At the same time, Jinchang City in Gansu Province has achieved remarkable growth in recent years, largely due to the stimulation of its non-ferrous metal industry by the demand for renewable energy infrastructure. (Translation/ Guo Jun)

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7533451821549961768/

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