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Beijing ranked first among cities in the Chinese mainland in overall urban competitiveness for the first time in 2011, according to the annual Blue Book on Urban Competitiveness covering 294 cities in China's mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) in Beijing on May 21.
The 10 most competitive Chinese cities last year were, in descending order, Hong Kong, Taipei, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Hangzhou, Qingdao, and Changsha.
The blue book showed that Beijing ranked first among all Chinese cities in sub-indices such as talent competitiveness, technological competitiveness, and innovative competitiveness.
The CASS believes that the trend of urbanization in China in the past 10 years will not continue, and there are three major problems facing the country's urbanization.
The first problem is incomplete population urbanization. The country's urbanization rate has reached 50 percent, but urban hukou holders only account for 33 percent of its total population.
The second problem is land over-urbanization. The country's urban population has grown 50 percent in the past 10 years, but the total size of its urban areas has grown nearly 100 percent.
The third problem is imbalanced urbanization. A large number of people have flooded into big cities, leaving small and medium-sized cities developing relatively slowly. In addition, small towns lack public facilities, and are relatively scattered.
The country's urbanization also face problems concerning land, industrial, and demand structures, and mainly relies on exploitation of land and other resources for development.
The academy suggested that China should take a new path of urbanization, and make efforts to build ideal cities with sustainable competitiveness. To be more specific, it should build people-centered livable cities, energetic cities that have advanced industries, harmonious cities that integrate different cultures, eco-friendly cities, garden cities that integrate the advantages of cities and villages, free and open international cities, cultural cities where ancient and modern cultures mingle and coexist, and information cities featuring convenient communication.
