Jinan among world’s most competitive cities

A night view of Jinan, capital of East China’s Shandong province. [Photo/VCG]

Jinan, capital of East China’s Shandong province, ranked 141st on the Global City Competitiveness Report (2019-2020) released on Nov 12, which measures the economic competitiveness of cities around the world.

The report was jointly authored by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the United Nations Humans Settlements Programme.

Among the world’s top 200 most competitive cities, 39 were in China. Shenzhen’s global economic competitiveness ranked fourth, while Shanghai, Hong Kong, Beijing and Guangzhou, all ranked in the top 20.

Shandong’s Qingdao and Yantai also made the list, ranking 76th and 175th respectively.

Economic competitiveness refers to the value a city creates and how it provides social services for its residents, making use of its own economic advantages and resources.

Every year, the report evaluates the economic competitiveness of cities around the world based on a comprehensive urban economic ranking system.

In recent years, Jinan has been developing rapidly and cultivating new engines of growth.

The city’s gross domestic product hit 479.17 billion yuan ($69.4 billion) in the first half of 2019, ranking second in Shandong province.

Significant progress has been made in the shift of growth drivers from old to new ones. The electronic information industry and internet-related sectors surged 13.4 and 30 percent respectively in 2019.

Officials said that the Jinan government will further promote the city’s economic and social development in the second half of the year and strive to join the 1 trillion yuan GDP club this year.