Opportunities in China's Regional Cities

The opportunities for UK business in China can be found in numerous emerging regional centres.

The development of regional cities in China offers huge opportunities to UK business. UKTI, in conjunction with the China-Britain Business Council and the University of Leeds, has investigated which regional cities offer the best opportunities. This research is based on detailed statistical analysis, in market interviews and a survey of companies and trade associations in China. From a list of all cities with a population of over a million people, 35 were selected for their economic size, economic growth and population size to study in more detail.Further analysis then identified which of the short-listed cities were the best business locations for UK companies, in terms of:

•  local sales,

•  production to supply domestic markets,

•  production to supply export markets,

•  and research and development activity.

The research also evaluated the opportunities presented by these cities for UK companies in seven priority sectors:

• Advanced Engineering

• Energy

• Environment and Climate Change

• Financial and Professional Services

• Infrastructure

• Information Communication Technology

• Life Sciences

The results show the regional cities all share rapid economic growth, low input costs, large and developing consumer and industrial markets, and strong local government support and policy momentum in regional economic development.

UKTI, in partnership with CBBC, has published a new brochure on China’s Regional Cities. The brochure highlights the importance of taking advantage of the opportunities in Regional Cities, and provides a starting-point to our extensive China Regional Cities report.

The opportunities for business in China are not just in the well-known Chinese business centres of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, but also further afield in numerous emerging regional centres. The British economy will benefit considerably if we can harness our strengths to the many opportunities throughout China. This brochure provides an invaluable guide to which regional cities in China offer the greatest business potential to UK companies.

There are many specific opportunities for UK companies and these are outlined in the Main Report as well as a new report published in July 2010 which focuses specifically on the Shandong Province which is China’s third most populous province and also ranks third in order of GDP Download the reports below.

Summary of Regional Cities Report

Main Regional Cities Report

View the individual sector and city profiles here.

Download the Shandong Report