Green Paper for Small and Medium-sized Cities: The Process of Urbanization Is Stable in the East and Fast in the West The demand for industrial development is strong

Reporter Jiang Nan

On October 23, 2021, the Compilation Committee of the Report on the Development of Small and Medium-sized Cities in China, the Guoxin Small and Medium-sized Cities Index Research Institute, and the Social Science Literature Publishing House jointly released the Green Paper for Small and Medium-sized Cities: Report on the Development of Small and Medium-sized Cities in China (2020-2021) (hereinafter referred to as the Green Paper).

The Green Paper believes that the development of small and medium-sized cities in China presents seven major characteristics:

1. The urbanization process of small and medium-sized cities shows a situation of stability in the east and rapid in the west

In recent years, the state has actively promoted the regional development strategy of the large-scale development of the western region, the rise of the central region, and the revitalization of the northeast. The urbanization process of small and medium-sized cities has undergone significant changes in the regional pattern, showing the status quo of "stability in the east and fast in the west". The eastern region has a good economic foundation, and after experiencing a period of rapid growth after reform and opening up, its urbanization rate has gradually stabilized. In recent years, the urbanization of small and medium-sized cities in the central and western regions has developed very rapidly, and they have become a rapid growth area for urbanization development in China.

2. Small and medium-sized cities have become an important growth point driving the development of the national economy

Small and medium-sized cities and the areas that directly affect and radiate account for about 55% of the total economic output of the country, and local fiscal revenue accounts for about 40% of the national fiscal revenue. Small and medium-sized cities are scattered in space and connected to the network, becoming an important fulcrum of the national urban agglomeration development strategy in the spatial pattern, thus becoming the driving base point and strong support for the economic development of the urban agglomeration and the whole country. Compared with other types of cities, the fastest economic growth rate is still small and medium-sized cities, and it is also an important "growth point" that currently drives the development of the national economy.

3. Small and medium-sized cities are the key fulcrum for the implementation of the national rural revitalization strategy

The national rural revitalization strategy is a systematic project, including multiple dimensions such as comprehensive upgrading of agriculture, comprehensive progress in rural areas, and comprehensive development of farmers. Small and medium-sized cities are an important carrier and key fulcrum for the implementation of the national rural revitalization strategy, and play an important role. On the one hand, small and medium-sized cities are an important platform for the transfer and agglomeration of surplus rural labor, and will also promote the gradual extension of public services to rural areas. On the other hand, small and medium-sized cities have special functions of connecting urban and rural areas, low entry thresholds, easy access to rural elements, rich rural resource elements, and special functions of connecting urban and rural areas and promoting the development of industry and agriculture, and have great development potential.

4. There is a strong demand for industrial development in small and medium-sized cities

On the one hand, compared with large cities, the current economic foundation of small and medium-sized cities is still weak, the industrial scale and concentration are not high, especially in small and medium-sized cities located in the less developed areas of the central and western regions, the economic development tasks and pressures are still very large, and it is urgent to rely on the rapid development of industries to drive economic growth and income levels. On the other hand, without rapidly developing industries, small and medium-sized cities cannot fully implement the problem of surplus rural employment.

5. The infrastructure construction market of small and medium-sized cities is vast

At present, most small and medium-sized cities are still in the stage of urbanization infrastructure construction. There is still a big gap between its infrastructure construction level and many large cities. With the rapid increase in the income level of residents in small and medium-sized cities, higher requirements have been put forward for the quality and scale of infrastructure in small and medium-sized cities, which is a huge market demand compared with the current status of infrastructure construction.

6. The flexible functional structure of small and medium-sized cities makes it difficult to coordinate overall planning

Most of the small and medium-sized cities are small in size and simple in structure, which brings one advantage is that their economic adjustment is more elastic. In addition, compared with large cities, the population and economic scale of small and medium-sized cities are relatively small, and in the process of their social and economic transformation, the overall coordination work is relatively easy to operate, which provides an important implementation environment for the efficient governance and overall planning of small and medium-sized cities.

7. Small and medium-sized cities are accelerating their integration into the construction of key urban agglomerations

The state is promoting the construction of a number of key urban agglomerations. Enhancing the competitiveness of urban agglomerations mainly depends on the division of labor and cooperation between core cities and surrounding small and medium-sized cities. This will bring major development opportunities to the construction and development of small and medium-sized cities. In the future, how small and medium-sized cities can take advantage of the development trend and development environment of key urban agglomerations to handle the relationship with the central cities of urban agglomerations and achieve coordinated development has become an important focus for the future development of small and medium-sized cities.

(Edited by Tseshandan)