Shaoxing and Economic Trends

Shaoxing is a prefecture-level city located in the south corner of the Yangtze River delta, in Zhejiang province. The city is Asia's largest production base for chemical fiber fabrics and the world's largest textile distribution center. With a population of 5 million and an area of 8,279 square kilometers, it has jurisdiction over 3 districts, 2 county-level cities, and 1 county.

Shaoxing, as a key pilot city of the province, gives top priority to the development of the information economy, cultural tourism, and advanced equipment manufacturing. To increase its competitiveness, Shaoxing keeps upgrading its traditional industries while cultivating new businesses. The city's main industries together with the textile, are computing communication, electronics equipment manufacturing and pharmaceuticals. Four new industries have been developing rapidly in Shaoxing, such as intelligent equipment, modern medicine, new materials and electronic information. Moreover, there are four national economic and technological development zones in Shaoxing.

In 2021, the GDP reached 680 billion RMB, up 8.7 % compared to the previous year, while the GDP per capita amounted to 50,500 RMB. The total value of Shaoxing’s international trade reached 257 billion RMB in 2021, with the exports amounting to 239 billion RMB and the total value of imports to 18 billion RMB.

The Chinese City Tier System consists of a system of tiers used by analysts to classify Chinese cities and rank them in a hierarchy. Cities in different tiers reflect differences in consumer behaviour, income level, population size, consumer sophistication, infrastructure, talent pool, and business opportunity.