An economic output exceeding 1 trillion yuan largely indicates that a city’s development has undergone a qualitative transformation. It also signals the emergence of a “mainstay” within its region. As of 2024, 27 cities in China (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, and cities in the Taiwan region) have achieved a GDP surpassing the trillion-yuan mark.
Examining the four major regions, the eastern, central, western, and northeastern regions are home to 20, 4, 3, and 0 trillion-yuan cities, respectively. The eastern region boasts a staggering 74.07% of all trillion-yuan cities, while the northeastern region remains without any. In terms of the north-south divide, the south hosts 19 trillion-yuan cities, compared to only 8 in the north. This uneven distribution of trillion-yuan cities is a key factor behind the significant east-west gap and severe north-south differentiation in the country.
The distribution pattern is highly pyramid-shaped: 2 cities have a GDP exceeding 4 trillion yuan; 3 cities have a GDP between 3 and 4 trillion yuan; 4 cities have a GDP between 2 and 3 trillion yuan; 6 cities have a GDP between 1.5 and 2 trillion yuan; and 12 cities have a GDP between 1 and 1.5 trillion yuan. Moreover, after crossing the trillion-yuan threshold, some cities have experienced rapid development, while others have progressed more slowly. Comparing the rankings of the trillion-yuan cities in 2024 with their initial rankings when they first joined the trillion-yuan city club, 10 cities have improved their rankings, 9 have remained the same, and 8 have dropped. The top three cities with the most significant ranking improvements are Fuzhou, Ningbo, and Chongqing (with increases of 6, 4, and 3 places, respectively). Shenzhen, Tianjin, Suzhou, and Chongqing all became trillion-yuan cities in 2011. Chongqing has stood out and, together with Chengdu, has become one of the two pillars of the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle, forming the locomotive for the western region to catch up with the developed areas.
In 2026, China will enter a new five-year planning period. During the “15th Five-Year Plan” period, China will continue to catch up in terms of total economic volume. The trend of optimizing China’s regional economic pattern has already emerged. For example, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the northeastern region, which has long lacked trillion-yuan cities, will achieve a “zero-to-one” breakthrough, which is also something to look forward to in the context of the efforts to revitalize the northeast.
A number of potential cities are expected to cross the trillion - yuan threshold during the “15th Five-Year Plan” period, including Wenzhou, Xuzhou, Dalian, and Shenyang. The GDP of these four cities in 2024 was 971.885 billion yuan, 953.712 billion yuan, 951.69 billion yuan, and 902.714 billion yuan, respectively. Dalian and Shenyang are the hopes for the northeastern region to achieve a breakthrough in trillion-yuan cities, which will create a new history where all four major regions have trillion-yuan cities. After the three western cities of Chongqing, Chengdu, and Xi’an entered the trillion-yuan city club, their rankings all improved, and their ability to drive the overall takeoff of the western region was further enhanced.
It can be anticipated that the changes in the trillion-yuan city club during the “15th Five-Year Plan” period will inject new momentum into regional coordinated development. Indeed, during the “15th Five-Year Plan” period, the pattern of trillion-yuan cities being highly concentrated in the eastern coastal areas and major economic provinces will not change, and the imbalance in north-south and east-west development will still exist. Therefore, China’s regional coordinated development still requires persistent and long-term efforts.
Published on June 19, 2025
Zhang Keyun, President of the National Economic Geography Research Association