In 2025, the roster of Chinese cities with GDP exceeding one trillion yuan has been finalized, with the total number reaching 29 nationwide. Notably, Wenzhou and Dalian have joined this elite group for the first time, while Shanghai and Beijing have both advanced into the 5-trillion-yuan GDP tier, marking a further expansion of China's high-GDP urban landscape.
Among these top-performing cities, 22 achieved GDP growth rates surpassing 5% in 2025, exceeding the national average. Tangshan, Hefei, Yantai, and Wenzhou led with growth rates over 6%. Meanwhile, 14 cities maintained or slightly increased their growth rates compared to 2024, with Xi'an and Guangzhou seeing improvements of 3.4 and 1.9 percentage points, respectively.
Analyzing the economic structures of these cities reveals distinct developmental focuses across different tiers. In Shanghai and Beijing, the tertiary sector was a key growth driver, with value-added growth rates of 6.0% and 5.8% respectively, outpacing their overall GDP growth. In contrast, the newly inducted trillion-yuan cities, Wenzhou and Dalian, relied heavily on secondary industries, both recording double-digit growth in industrial value-added output.
The number of trillion-yuan GDP cities in China has grown steadily from 24 in 2021 to 29 in 2025, signaling a new phase in urban development. An expert from the China (Shenzhen) Center for International Economic Development noted that while more cities are expected to reach this milestone, the focus is shifting from pure scale expansion to high-quality development. This new paradigm emphasizes technological innovation, efficient allocation of high-end resources, improved livability, and a transition from monocentric urban models to coordinated city cluster development.
The distribution of these 29 cities forms a positive pyramid structure. Two cities are in the 5-trillion-yuan range, followed by three in the 3-trillion-yuan tier, four in the 2-trillion-yuan tier, and twenty in the 1-trillion-yuan tier. The middle tiers remained stable, with Shenzhen, Chongqing, and Guangzhou in the 3-trillion-yuan bracket, and Suzhou, Chengdu, Hangzhou, and Wuhan in the 2-trillion-yuan group, maintaining their 2024 rankings.
At the pyramid's apex, Beijing's GDP surpassed 5 trillion yuan for the first time in 2025, reaching 5,207.34 billion yuan with a 5.4% year-on-year growth, joining Shanghai in the top tier. Beijing's tertiary sector, particularly information technology and software services (growing 11.0%) and finance (growing 8.7%), contributed over 70% to the city's economic growth. The city's strengths in education and a young, high-density talent pool have positioned it as a national leader in emerging industries like artificial intelligence.
Shanghai exhibited a similar growth pattern, with its tertiary sector expanding 6.0%, 0.6 percentage points faster than its overall GDP. Key sectors such as information technology and software services (up 15.3%) and finance (up 9.7%) were major contributors. Both megacities are leveraging their strong producer services, deep integration of basic research, talent development, and industrial application to drive the development of new productive forces in areas like AI, biopharmaceuticals, and advanced semiconductors, steering their economies toward higher quality and value-added structures.
At the pyramid's base, Wenzhou and Dalian broke the trillion-yuan barrier. Wenzhou's GDP reached 1,021.39 billion yuan, growing 6.1%, while Dalian achieved 1,000.21 billion yuan, up 5.7%. Unlike Beijing and Shanghai, these two newcomers showcased robust industrial performance. Wenzhou's industrial value-added output grew 10.3%, driven by a 19.0% surge in auto parts and a 13.6% increase in electrical equipment. The city's export sector also performed strongly, with total exports up 9.6%, led by double-digit growth in electromechanical and high-tech products.
Dalian's industrial value-added output rose 11.7%, accelerating by 4.1 percentage points from the previous year. While traditional heavy industries like petrochemicals (up 8.9%) and equipment manufacturing (up 15.4%) remained strong, high-tech manufacturing grew 13.9%, with notable expansions in computer and office equipment (up 78.2%) and pharmaceuticals (up 30.9%). As the first trillion-yuan GDP city in Northeast China, Dalian is building on its industrial foundation and port advantages to advance in high-tech manufacturing.
The development paths of Wenzhou and Dalian highlight different strategies for reaching the trillion-yuan milestone. Wenzhou capitalizes on its vibrant private economy and overseas business networks to optimize export structures and expand internationally. Dalian leverages its industrial base and port infrastructure to strengthen heavy industries while progressively developing high-tech manufacturing. Both cities have successfully amplified their unique advantages to achieve economic scale.
Looking ahead, many of these leading cities are targeting artificial intelligence as a key future industry. Shanghai plans to support sectors like intelligent connected new-energy vehicles, marine economy, and low-altitude economy, while implementing an "AI Plus" initiative. Beijing aims to develop advanced industries including integrated circuits, new-energy vehicles, and commercial aerospace, also emphasizing "AI Plus" actions.
Chongqing, a 3-trillion-yuan city, intends to upgrade its leading industries and explore emerging fields like low-altitude economy and brain-computer interfaces, alongside expanding its "AI Plus" efforts. Newcomer Wenzhou aims to build a modern industrial matrix focused on AI, targeting over five specialized AI industrial parks and core AI industry revenue of 22 billion yuan. Dalian plans to foster new momentum in the digital economy, develop key computing infrastructure, and cultivate vertical AI models in areas like smart chemicals and fintech.
Experts suggest that AI is poised to drive systematic changes in research methodologies, organization, and evaluation, accelerating technological breakthroughs and enhancing global competitiveness. The development of new productive forces based on technological advancement is seen as essential for China's future high-quality economic growth.
As the number of trillion-yuan GDP cities continues to grow, urban competition is expected to evolve beyond GDP comparisons to encompass technological innovation capability, allocation of high-end factors, cultural influence, livability, and business environment. This shift signifies a move from scale expansion to quality improvement, measured by more comprehensive indicators. Furthermore, urban development is transitioning from monocentric models to coordinated city cluster approaches, such as the "Shanghai R&D, Suzhou manufacturing" dynamic in the Yangtze River Delta and the efficient linkage between Shenzhen's innovation and the industrial agglomeration in Guangzhou, Foshan, and Dongguan within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Such regional collaboration is anticipated to overcome the functional limitations of single-core cities and unleash greater developmental momentum.