Alibaba’s hometown named China’s city with most economic potential, but who else tops the list?

Advanced technological know-how, extensive government support and well-developed port infrastructures have helped identify three lesser-known Chinese cities as having potential for fast economic growth, according to a new report.

Hangzhou, the capital of China’s Zhejiang province and home to e-commerce giant Alibaba, tops the emerging city rankings produced by The Economist Intelligence Unit (The EIU) ahead of Tencent’s hometown of Shenzhen, manufacturing hub Guangzhou and financial centre Shanghai.

According to the report, cities on the east coast – including the likes of Hangzhou, Shanghai, Ningbo and Suzhou – are best placed to see through China’s national strategy to transition its economy into being technology-driven within the next five years.

“With the government’s urbanisation strategy focusing increasingly on creating city clusters, metropolitan areas, and industrial clusters, we also advise firms to pay close attention to broader, multi-city urban geographies,” said Yue Su, principal economist for China at The EIU.

“Companies need to consider the endowment of markets surrounding their investment destinations when carrying out strategic planning, with success depending on close analysis of economic and demographic indicators, infrastructure connections, and spending patterns in the region.”

The rankings are based on historical data for 2015-19 and forecasts from The EIU for 2020-24.

Hefei was the biggest mover compared to the 2019 rankings released before the coronavirus, and it is expected to play an important role in the national drive for self-sufficiency in science and technology in the next five years.