When the term “international metropolis” is mentioned, most people think of New York, the “Capital of the World,” London, the world’s financial center, or Hong Kong, the “Pearl of the Orient.” These cities are usually developed economically, with smooth trade, convenient logistics, and dense population.

Peter Hall, the British geographer, defined the concept of “international metropolis” as a first-class international city with economic, political and cultural impacts on the world or most countries.

How many international metropolises are there then in the Yangtze River Delta, the “locomotive” for China’s economic development? Among the cities of the Yangtze River Delta beyond Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou and Nanjing take the lead in terms of GDP ranking. Yet Ningbo, an international trade city which depends on Zhoushan, the world’s largest port, is also in the lead.

Adjacent to Shanghai, Suzhou has taken the lead in internationalization, particularly in terms of manufacturing industry development and foreign investment attraction. In recent years, the strength of all of Suzhou has been employed to build Suzhou Airport, in an effort to restructure and enhance the resources of Suzhou Port. Building it into an international port will meet one requirement to become an “international metropolis”: being “an important global transit hub.”

“Hangzhou created urban internationalization long ago, earlier than Suzhou,” a cadre of the Development and Reform Commission of Hangzhou told this reporter. “Its ultimate goal is to build an international metropolis.”

In search for data, this reporter has also found that when Xi Jinping was still working in Zhejiang, he explicitly defined the “four Hangzhous” positioning and the “four world-class” requirements. “Hangzhou should belong not just to Zhejiang and China, but to Asia and the whole world,” and “becoming a modernized international metropolis with world-class standards, performance, vision, and spirit”.

“After the G20 Summit, the internationalization of Hangzhou picked up speed. In terms of population, Zhejiang has always ranked first in China in net talent inflow rate. In terms of finances, one of the major development strategies of the Zhejiang provincial CPC Committee and government has been the construction of Qiantang River Financial Harbor. Not long ago, Hangzhou proposed a new manufacturing plan to actively make up for shortages in the manufacturing sector.” An industry insider and expert told this reporter that the main bottleneck keeping Hangzhou from becoming an international metropolis may lie in the “important global transit hub” item. Hangzhou has no sea port, so it cannot develop its maritime economy and port industry. Its airport internationalization is still insufficient, which to a certain extent limits Hangzhou’s logistics and international exchange demand.

Executive Editor: Bei Xu

Translation: Bei Xu, Wenjin Chen