Since its first release in 2014, the Chinese Cities of Opportunity report has accompanied the growth of Chinese cities for 13 consecutive years, recording and enabling China’s urban development from a professional perspective.
Investing in China: From selecting countries to selecting cities
The global economic landscape is undergoing profound adjustment, and capital’s investment preference is shifting from the pursuit of high growth to a priority on opportunities with certainty. As capital continues to concentrate in areas of certainty and industrial boundaries accelerate towards integration, China’s certainty is reflected not only in the steady operation of the macroeconomy, but also in the distinctive investment value of cities with differentiated strengths. China is now transforming from a global production base into a collaborative innovation network, and its model of external cooperation is upgrading comprehensively from “Made in China” to “Co-created in China”. Every Chinese city has a dual positioning: domestically, it is a core carrier for the deep cultivation of the local market; externally, it is a key node in global industrial chains. Investing in a Chinese city can lock in the scale benefits of the domestic market while also securing the opportunity to embed in global innovation networks. Selecting cities has become an increasingly recognised and precise strategic choice among global investors.
Closely aligned with this trend, Chinese Cities of Opportunity 2026 focuses on the new logic of global capital flows and the diversified strengths of cities. Taking 60 cities as its base, it innovatively builds an evaluation system covering 10 dimensions and 50 variables. The report not only examines in depth the hierarchical structure, regional clusters and network effects that support cities’ long-term growth, but also breaks away from simple single-dimension ranking to present, from multiple perspectives, cities’ superimposed advantages in hard technology, consumer markets, innovation ecosystems and the business environment.
Key findings
1．Distribution reveals hierarchy, with each city in its place and displaying its strengths
2．Champions on different tracks fully demonstrate the diversity of Chinese cities
3．Each of the ten dimensions contains different opportunities
Economic strength
Seeking structural opportunities in efficiency conversion. The core value of urban economic strength has shifted from aggregate scale to efficiency conversion.
Regional synergy
Reconstruction of spatial economic forms and value resonance. Investors are no longer concerned only with the capacity of a single city, but with the connection value and synergy premium within and among city clusters.
Technological innovation
Anchoring technological breakthroughs with the innovation ecosystem. An increasing number of multinational enterprises are treating China as the first-launch station for innovative products and the validation ground for business models.
Urban resilience
Safety governance moving towards an investable market. As urban safety shifts from a government responsibility to an investable market, resilience itself is becoming a new track of certainty.
Consumer vitality
Reconstructing growth value amid stratified demand. China has become a perception frontier and source of innovation for global consumption trends, continuously attracting global investors to conduct consumer goods innovation here.
Green and low-carbon
From technological breakthroughs to systemic efficiency. China’s green and low-carbon development has moved from being driven by policy subsidies and compelled by international institutions into a new stage of actively seeking systemic profitability.
Digital-intelligence empowerment
From pilots to a period of scaled returns. China has formed a four-in-one digital ecosystem of technology, scenarios, data and manufacturing, effectively supporting enterprises in being the first to run through the complete closed loop from technology to value.
Market environment
Entering the stage of benefits from institutional trust. The optimisation of the market environment among Chinese cities has shifted from whose policies are more preferential to whose institutions are more stable, whose factor costs are lower and whose government is more trustworthy.
Open development
From trade linkages to the construction of global capabilities. Chinese cities are moving from being seen to being recognised, deeply participating in the global division of labour while taking part in rule-making.
Culture and quality of life
A new track growing from spiritual needs. The rapid growth of cultural industries, the continuous upgrading of cultural consumption and the strong momentum of culture going global jointly constitute the fundamentals of investment in this field.
This report can provide global investors with an objective and authoritative quantitative basis for precisely matching the capabilities they need and deepening cooperation in supply chains and innovation ecosystems. It can also help cities clearly recognise their own resource endowments and identify differentiated positioning, providing strong support for the high-quality development of Chinese cities and the allocation of global resources.
This year, PwC plans to launch Opportunity Cities Diagnostic, an AI agent that converts 13 years of urban research into an interactive site-selection decision tool. Based on the quantitative assessment of 60 cities and 50 variables, the agent enables users to input site-selection needs through dialogue and obtain city evaluation and site-selection analysis reports, helping enterprises complete layout decisions in China more scientifically and efficiently.
PwC has always been committed to connecting China with global markets. At this critical moment as global growth opens a new chapter, we present to the world the cooperation opportunities of Chinese cities in a comprehensive way, help global markets gain a deeper understanding of the diversity and resilience of China’s urban development, and promote closer co-creation between international partners and Chinese cities, so as to share in the fruitful outcomes of China’s modernisation.
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