See who's in the big city 'club'
How many "big cities" are there in China?
Which cities have just joined the ranks, and which cities are about to enter?
Recently, the Office of the Leading Group for the Seventh National Census of the State Council released the "2020 China Population Census Information by Counties" (hereinafter referred to as "County Information"), showing a "schedule" for China's new urbanization.
According to the "County-by-County Data", according to the current city scale classification standards, there are 105 large cities in the country.
105 cities with a population of over one million
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, as of the end of 2021, there are 691 cities in China, including 297 cities above the prefecture level and 394 cities at the county level.
How many of them can be called "big cities"?
According to the city scale classification standard issued by the State Council in 2014, the city type is divided according to the permanent resident population of the urban area.
Among them, cities with a permanent population of more than 10 million are megacities, cities with more than 5 million but less than 10 million are megacities, cities with more than 3 million but less than 5 million are Type I megacities, and cities with more than 1 million but less than 3 million are Type II cities large city.
The above cities are all big cities.
With the continuous acceleration of new urbanization, more and more cities have entered the ranks of big cities.
According to the "County-by-County Data", there are currently 105 large cities in the country, including 7 megacities, 14 megacities, 14 Type I large cities and 70 Type II large cities.
The three megacities of Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen ranked the top three, with urban populations of 19.873 million, 17.752 million and 17.438 million respectively.
Looking at the distribution, the eastern region has the most large cities, with a total of 54; the central and western regions each have 21, and the northeastern region has 10.
Among the provinces, 30 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in the country except the Tibet Autonomous Region have large cities; Jiangsu Province has the most, with 11 large cities, and Guangdong Province and Shandong Province each have 10.
According to expert analysis, the population growth of large cities in recent years is mainly due to population migration, rather than natural population growth.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that China's population mobility is increasingly active. In 2020, the national floating population will reach 376 million, accounting for 26.6% of the national population.
From 2010 to 2020, the population concentration of major urban agglomerations increased, and the population of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area urban agglomeration, the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration and the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration increased by 35%, 12% and 7.3% respectively.
In terms of the household registration system, cities with a permanent population of less than 3 million in urban areas have basically abolished the restrictions on settlement, and cities with a permanent population of more than 3 million in urban areas have relaxed the conditions for settlement in an orderly manner, further promoting the urbanization of agricultural migrants.
Economic development also promotes the formation of large cities.
Judging from the list of 105 large cities, the three provinces of Jiangsu, Guangdong and Shandong, which have the largest number of large cities, are also at the forefront of the country in terms of regional GDP. Regional GDP rankings are highly overlapping.
The driving and radiating role of big cities has become increasingly prominent.
According to the relevant person in charge of the National Bureau of Statistics, at present, China has generally established the layout of "19+2" urban agglomerations including 19 urban agglomerations and 2 urban circles.
In the Yangtze River Delta region, Shanghai, as a core city, drives the joint development of the five metropolitan areas of Nanjing, Hangzhou, Hefei, Suzhou, Xichang and Ningbo, forming a group of large cities with sufficient vitality and rapid development.
There is a foundation for the expansion of the "club" in the big city
In the next step, what new members are expected to usher in the big city "club"?
According to the "County-by-County Data", the resident population of several cities above the prefecture level is approaching the million mark, including Anyang City, Henan Province, Pingdingshan City, Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province, and Qujing City, Yunnan Province. 990,000, 988,000 and 972,000.
Many experts believe that, in general, there is a basis for the continued expansion of the list of major cities in China.
In terms of employment, large cities provide a large number of jobs and attract more labor.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that as a large number of rural laborers move to cities and towns, urban employment has maintained a growth trend.
In 2021, the total number of urban employed persons will reach 467.73 million, accounting for 62.7% of urban employment.
The "County-by-County Data" also shows that in 105 large cities, various industries in the secondary and tertiary industries have absorbed a large number of people over the age of 16 for employment.
In terms of infrastructure, the level of urban construction in China has been continuously improved, and the infrastructure in some areas has been moderately advanced, laying a solid foundation for cultivating more large cities.
Urban infrastructure construction is more complete.
According to data from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, by the end of 2021, the area of urban built-up areas across the country will reach 62,400 square kilometers; the penetration rates of urban water supply, gas, and pipeline gas will reach 99.38%, 98.04%, and 79.84%, respectively.
More connectivity between cities.
In 2021, the operating mileage of China's high-speed railways will reach 40,000 kilometers, covering more than 95% of cities with a population of more than one million; the mileage of expressways will be 169,000 kilometers, covering more than 98% of cities with a population of more than 200,000; scheduled flights will open to 248 airports. 1, covering about 92% of prefecture-level cities.
In the future, the connections between major cities will be smoother, and the comprehensive effect of "hub + channel" in key urban agglomerations will also be fully utilized.
According to the relevant person in charge of the National Bureau of Statistics, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration has basically formed a "1-hour traffic circle in the core area" and a "1.5-hour traffic circle between adjacent cities"; a comprehensive three-dimensional transportation corridor of the Yangtze River Economic Belt based on the Yangtze River Golden Waterway Continuous improvement; after the completion of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong high-speed railway, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the Second Humen Bridge and other projects, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has initially formed a radiation pattern of "accessing major cities within one hour and connecting east, central, and southwest China". channel pattern.
However, while the population and economic volume continue to grow, the construction and development of large cities is also facing challenges such as population structure.
The "County-by-County Data" shows that many large cities have entered an aging society to varying degrees.
For example, the proportion of the population aged 65 and above is 13.52% in Beijing, 16.28% in Shanghai and 14.75% in Tianjin.
According to international standards, when the proportion of the population aged 65 and over in a region exceeds 7%, it will enter the aging stage, and if it exceeds 14%, it is considered to be moderately aging.
Improving the supply level of elderly care services is becoming an important issue faced by many large cities in the development process.
4 county-level cities become Type II big cities
Facing the "admission tickets" of big cities, many county-level cities and county towns are "eager to try".
By the end of 2021, China has 392 county-level cities and 1,482 county towns, of which the total population of county towns reaches 139 million.
With the vigorous development of county economy, a number of county-level cities and county towns with considerable population and economic scale have emerged in various places.
According to the "County-by-County Data", there are 4 county-level cities in the country with a permanent population of more than 1 million, which have become Type II large cities, including Kunshan City in Jiangsu Province, Jinjiang City in Fujian Province, Cixi City and Yiwu City in Zhejiang Province.
Among them, the population of Kunshan City is 1,414,300, the population of Yiwu City is 1,184,200, the population of Cixi City is 1,061,900, and the population of Jinjiang City is 1,012,500.
How did county-level cities become "clubs" in big cities?
Behind the rapid growth of urban volume is a large number of floating population.
The "County-by-County Data" shows that among the permanent residents of the four county-level cities that have entered the ranks of large cities, the population with household registration outside the province is more than 700,000.
Among them, there are 783,000 people living outside the province in Kunshan, 880,000 in Yiwu, 778,000 in Cixi, and 703,000 in Jinjiang.
Experts explained that industrial agglomeration has brought considerable jobs and attracted a large number of migrants to work and do business, which has promoted the rapid expansion of the population of relevant county-level cities.
Large county-level cities not only have large populations, but are also economically strong counties.
The reporter learned that the above-mentioned four county-level cities will rank first, fourth, sixth and tenth respectively among the top ten counties in China's regional GDP in 2021, and the regional economic development has its own characteristics.
Among them, the GDP of Kunshan has ranked first among the county-level administrative units for many consecutive years, and is known as "China's No. 1 Economically Powerful County"; Zhejiang Yiwu is a well-known small commodity production and sales base at home and abroad, known as "the world's small commodity Zhejiang Cixi and Fujian Jinjiang are respectively strong in the fields of home appliances and shoemaking.
Nonetheless, the development of more county-level cities and county towns still has limitations compared to "star" counties.
The relevant person in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission stated that the overall comprehensive carrying capacity and governance capacity of China's county-level cities and county towns are relatively weak.
In response to related shortcomings and weaknesses, the National Development and Reform Commission has previously issued the "Notice on Accelerating the Development of County Urbanization to Make Up for the Strengths and Weaknesses" in 2020, and proposed 17 construction tasks.
The "Opinions on Promoting Urbanization Construction with County Towns as Important Carriers" issued in May this year clearly stated that by 2025, important progress will be made in urbanization construction with county towns as important carriers, and a group of people with good location advantages and industrial bases and resources Significant achievements have been made in the construction of county towns with strong environmental carrying capacity and better economic conditions for agglomeration of population.
Experts predict that more economically strong counties with larger urban populations are expected to enter the ranks of big cities.
Among them, the urban population of Ruian City in Zhejiang Province has reached 979,000, and Jiangyin City and Changshu City in Jiangsu Province are 836,000 and 829,000 respectively, which are close to the threshold of type II large cities.
In the future, county-level cities and county towns will continue to serve as important carriers of urbanization. While integrating into the construction and development of neighboring large cities and actively accepting population, they will also absorb more agricultural transfer population within the county, and continue to play a supporting role in the integrated development of urban and rural areas.
Wang Wenzheng
People's Daily Overseas Edition
Wang Wenzheng