In recent days, numerous regions across the country have released their 2025 economic data. With Wenzhou officially announcing its Gross Regional Product has surpassed one trillion yuan, the number of national "trillion-RMB cities" has increased to 28 as of January 20th. Simultaneously, more cities are anchoring their respective targets for the new year, building momentum for a concerted push, painting a vivid economic picture of a thousand sails competing and a hundred boats racing. "Trillion-RMB cities" are regarded as core growth poles driving regional economic expansion. By examining the data and local development practices, shifts in the landscape of this "leaderboard" become readily apparent. The first is dynamic ascension. The overall number of "trillion-RMB cities" is expanding, and members within each tier are striving to surpass their own previous achievements. For instance, Beijing has become the second "five-trillion-yuan city" after Shanghai; looking ahead to the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, Qingdao and Zhengzhou have set their sights on the 2 trillion yuan target, while Wuhan, Chengdu, and Hangzhou are aiming for the 3 trillion yuan milestone. This clearly demonstrates that high-quality development is continuously creating new space for "progress."
The second trend is coordinated advancement. Beyond municipalities directly under the central government, provincial capitals, and cities specifically designated in the state plan, the list includes 10 ordinary prefecture-level cities. Geographically, cities from the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region to the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle, have all made the list. This proves that China's urban cluster construction is accelerating, and a new pattern of coordinated regional economic development is rapidly taking shape. Facing a complex and volatile internal and external environment alongside intense inter-city competition, how have individual cities managed to make impressive leaps while navigating challenges? An analysis reveals that each has its own successful strategies. Take Beijing, for example, which consistently bases its efforts on advancing the construction of the "Four Centers" and leads the nation in attracting strategic emerging industries and future industries. Then there's the "newcomer" Wenzhou, itself a nationally renowned hub for the private economy, which has in recent years promoted an "Industrial Strength City" strategy, advancing the transformation of traditional industries and the cultivation of new ones. The high-quality development trend, characterized by diverse paths and multiple points of发力 based on each city's unique区位特征 and resource endowments, highlights the resilience and vitality of China's economy.
Of course, beyond these "unique skills," there are also common "winning formulas"—these cities普遍 possess relatively well-developed industrial systems, encompassing sectors like high-end manufacturing, modern services, and scientific and technological innovation. It can be said that persistent reform and innovation, transformation and upgrading, vitality stimulation, as well as the determination and capability to overcome development challenges with extraordinary efforts, have collectively painted the magnificent chapter of urban leapfrogging. Cities are crucial carriers of modernization. Whether it's leading cities accelerating their pace or rising stars striving to catch up and surpass, they all outline the most prominent theme in China's economic narrative: the drive towards innovation and excellence. Currently, China ranks 10th globally in the Global Innovation Index, has held the top spot for three consecutive years in the number of top 100 global science and technology innovation clusters, and is one of the economies with the fastest-rising innovation capacity. During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, China's socio-economic development advantages will become more pronounced, with central cities and urban agglomerations remaining the primary spatial forms for carrying development factors.
Looking at growth drivers, new economic growth points such as new energy, aerospace, and embodied intelligence are poised for takeoff. Whether they are unicorns, specialized and sophisticated SMEs, or single-product champions and hidden champions, these new forces of technological innovation are nurtured in the fertile soil of cities and grow alongside them. Regarding demand, today's China is the world's most potential-filled and growth-oriented mega-market, leading globally in the volume of physical consumption for basic necessities like clothing, food, housing, and transportation. In 2025, domestic demand's contribution to economic growth exceeded 67%. Building harmonious, livable, and dynamic modern cities, and continuously enhancing people's sense of happiness and gain, is a crucial engine for further expanding domestic demand. "Trillion-yuan cities" signify a new starting point and new responsibilities. Based on the long-range goal of achieving a per capita GDP of over $20,000 by 2035, doubling the 2020 figure, China's GDP needs to grow at an average annual rate of 4.17% during the "15th" and "16th" Five-Year Plan periods. The central authorities have repeatedly emphasized that major economic provinces must shoulder significant responsibilities. Major economic cities also have an unshirkable duty to fully leverage their advantages in concentrated labor population, solid industrial foundations, abundant scientific and educational resources, and a massive market scale to contribute more to the accelerated development of new quality productive forces.
It is also important to recognize that economic operation is a continuous process. A city's economic scale crossing a symbolic threshold indicates a further enhancement of its comprehensive strength and development capacity, but this does not necessarily mean a qualitative leap has been achieved. Especially at present, as a new round of global technological revolution and industrial transformation deepens, introducing more variables into urban competition. Only by maintaining historical patience and working persistently, one step after another, can cities continue to stand at the forefront of the times. Data is an直观体现 of strength, but GDP is not the sole objective we pursue; both "reasonable quantitative growth" and "effective qualitative improvement" are important. Across the vast landscape of China, over 690 cities are scattered like stars, and the demonstration effect of "trillion-RMB cities" brings tremendous激励 for high-quality development. However, future urban competition will no longer be a simple contest of scale, but rather about whether cities can form irreplaceable industrial clusters and innovation ecosystems in key emerging fields. Cities cannot simply "copy homework" by脱离自身的功能定位,优势特点, and发展阶段; instead, they should focus on global industrial transformation, base their efforts on regional cooperation and division of labor, and adapt measures to local conditions while leveraging their respective strengths. On the track of high-quality development, as long as a city effectively fulfills its function within the broader national development context, whether it is a "frontrunner" or a "chaser," it is a striver and represents the confidence with which China's economy will win the future.
The growth and ascension of each city contribute to a vibrant and prosperous China. A new sequence of奋斗 has begun. Let the wellsprings of all innovation and creation fully surge, let all kinetic energy for new development compete to burst forth. In a world where all things under the frosty sky strive for freedom, surely more cities will "break the tape" and "leap forward." The ship of China's economy will undoubtedly ride the wind, break the waves, and sail steadily into the distance.
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