Taiyuan and Economic Trends

Taiyuan is the capital and largest city of Shanxi Province. The city is surrounded by mountains on three sides, and the Fen River, the second largest tributary of the Yellow River, flows from north to south. With a population of 5.4 million, it covers an area of 6,988 square kilometers and has jurisdiction over six districts, one country, and three county-level cities.

The city is one of the leading manufacturing bases of China and a key logistics hub connecting Inner Mongolia with inland provinces. Rich in both natural resources and economic strength, Taiyuan has made efforts to develop a market-oriented, law-bound, and international business environment. Its main sectors include steel, mechanical engineering, and textiles. Furthermore, as the city keeps achieving major advancements in agricultural industrialization, a growing number of leading enterprises have flourished there.

In 2021, the GDP reached 512 billion RMB, up 9.2% compared to the previous year, while the GDP per capita amounted to 96,000 RMB. The total value of Taiyuan’s international trade amounted to 121 billion RMB in 2021, with the exports amounting to 52 billion RMB and the total value of imports to 69 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.