Guangzhou ranks the 40th among global cities and has edged its way into the
category of Alpha for the first time, according to the latest report from the
Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) Research Network.
According the
GaWC grading system, cities were divided into categories, ranging from
"Alpha++", down through Beta and Gamma, before finally reaching "sufficiency
level" (cities which don't quite qualify as global cities, but do at least have
some influence).
"The first-tier cities should not only have a strong
performance in economy, but have diverse cultures and a profound historic
foundation," said Xue Desheng, dean of the School of Geography and Planning of
Sun Yat-Sen University. "Guangzhou's opening up to the world does a great deal
to help the growth in its ranking."
Led by a think-tank of the Geography
Department at Loughborough University in the UK, GaWC first published the
ranking in 1999, grading cities by their activities in different service
sectors: accountancy, advertising, insurance, banking and law. Back then,
Guangzhou was ranked 107th place among 120 selected cities.
Guangzhou has
been experiencing steady and fast growth since 2008 and rose from Beta minus in
2008, to Beta in 2010, Beta plus in 2012, and succeeded to score a post in the
first-level in 2016 with Alpha minus, among 361 cities.
To retain or
improve its rating, Guangzhou strives to build into an overseas Chinese cultural
center, building the world's largest museum for overseas Chinese and information
center, so that Guangzhou city would be the first to come into expatriates' mind
when it comes to overseas Chinese culture, Xue suggested.
Huang Huiming,
chief planner of Guangzhou Urban Planning & Design Survey Research
Institute, said that Guangzhou should step up efforts in various fields,
including its role in global economy, international exchanges and transportation
development.
(Source: China Daily)