The annual report measures the competitiveness of 1007 cities around the world with a population of more than 500,000 and it is found that the global economic competitiveness of the cities has improved significantly since the financial crisis in 2008, with the overall level continuously improving and the whole gap gradually narrowing. The strength of sustainable competitiveness of global cities is now clearly distributed in an olive shape, and the sustainable competitiveness of Asian cities continues to increase.

The annual general report looking at the world from the perspective of citiesdiscovers that an intelligent, globalized and networked urban planet has been formed over the past 40 years. The collective rise of Chinese cities is the most significant event in the global cities over the past 40 years.

The annual theme report focuses on “the global industrial chain and the rise and fall of global cities” and notes that the formation and change of the global industrial chain has broken the industrial systems of every country, leading to the differentiation of cities’ ups and downs in various countries, and directly shaping a new urban planet.

On the eve of the fifth "World Cities Day", "China Social Science Forum - New Global City International Symposium and Nanjing Urban International Development Forum" was held in Nanjing on October 29-30, 2018. The meeting was mainly hosted by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), the People’s Government of Nanjing and UN-HABITAT. It is undertaken by the National Academy of Economic Strategy, CASS, the Nanjing City International Promotion Office, and the Nanjing Municipal Commerce and Trade Bureau. The meeting is also supported by media such as South China Morning Post, Daily Economy and Phoenix Finance, etc.

Special Representative of CASS and Director of the Research Bureau, Ma Yuan and Special Representative of the Executive Director of UN-HABITAT and Director of the Department of External Relations, Christina Mucisi, delivered speeches at the meeting. Yang Xuepeng, Executive Vice Mayor of Nanjing, presided over the opening ceremony and made a welcome address. LanShaomin, Mayor of Nanjing, Wang Yiming, Deputy Director of the Development Research Center of the State Council, Chairman of the National Arts Council of Singapore, renowned international urban planning master Liu Taige, academician of the Royal Academy of Social Sciences, and promoter of the Globalization and World Urban Research Network (GaWC) and Director Peter Taylor, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of China Development Research Foundation Lu Mai, and Dean of the Institute of Finance and Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, He Dexu, delivered and presided over the keynote speech. The well-known experts and scholars attending the conference conducted in-depth research and discussion on the cities’ internationalization, the global industrial chain and the rise and fall of the city. The famous entrepreneurs and media elites engaged in a round-table dialogue on key factors affecting and promoting the cities’ international influence.

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (Financial and Economics Institute) and UN-HABITAT jointly released the "Global Urban Competitiveness Report 2018-2019: Global Industry Chain: Creating a Networked City Planet" (hereinafter referred to as the report). The report was prepared by the Assistant Dean of the Institute of Finance and Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Chief Urban Economist of the Joint Research Group of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences-UN-HABITAT Prof. Ni Pengfei, and the group's Chief Urban Economist of UN-HABITATand the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences-UN-HABITAT Marco Kamiya, together with the world's competitiveness experts in many citiesto complete it for the entire year. This report authorizes the opening of the English abstract of the South China Morning Post, the Chinese abstract of the "Daily Economy", and the live broadcast of Phoenix Finance.

The report establishes an indicator system for urban economic competitiveness and sustainable competitiveness by adopting relevant data and methods to measure the competitiveness of the global cities, in which the economic competitiveness refers to the city’s ability to create value and obtain economic rent. From the perspective of display, it uses the economic density index and economic increment index to measure the competitiveness index of 1007 cities around the world; while the sustainable competitiveness refers to a city's ability to better and more consistently meet the long-term sustainability of the complex and critical social welfare of urban residents by enhancing its economic, social, environmental and technological advantages. From an explanatory perspective, eight indicators of economic vitality, environmental quality, social inclusion, scientific and technological innovation, global linkages, government management, human capital potential and infrastructure have been measured the sustainable competitiveness index of 1,007 cities worldwide. The statistical caliper of the sample cities in this report are mainly metropolitan areas.

Top 20 of the Global Urban Economic Competitiveness Indexes in 2018: New York, Los Angeles, Singapore, London, Shenzhen, San Jose, Munich, San Francisco, Tokyo, Houston, Hong Kong, Dallas, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Seoul, Dublin, Miami, Boston, Beijing And Frankfurt. Form the top 20, countries in North America and Asia have 8 seats respectively, and countries in Western Europe have 4 seats. The number of Asia is the same as that of North America for the first time. The cities with similar economic competitiveness are concentrated and contiguous, highlighting the importance of the development of urban agglomerations. The development of urban agglomerations in Europe and the United States is balanced, and emerging countries are concentrated in central cities. The echelon effect of urban economic competitiveness is obvious, and there exits differentiation in various levels. Increasing the degree of coordination between factor endowments, the level of economic competitiveness and narrowing the gap between urban economic competitiveness has become the key to catching up with the developed countries. Scientific and technological innovation, industrial systems and local demand indices have become the driving factors for the impact of improving global urban economic competitiveness. Cities with higher coupling coordination still maintain the throne of the most economically competitive cities in the world.

The study found that the United States has an obvious advantage in global urban economic competitiveness, and China’s economic competitiveness continues to rise rapidly. The overall advantages of American cities are obvious, and the level of development is relatively balanced. The top ten have 6 seats, the top 20 have 8 seats, and the top 100 have 35 seats. China's top cities performed well, and the overall competitiveness level continued to soar. Some strong second-tier cities performed more brilliantly. Shenzhen has entered the top 10 in the world; five cities like Hong Kong, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing have entered the top 20; ten cities includingSuzhou, Wuhan, Tianjin, Nanjing and Taipei have entered the top 50, and 18 cities including Chengdu, Changsha, Wuxi, Hangzhou, Chongqing, Qingdao, Foshan, Zhengzhou and Ningbo have entered the top 100, which also reflects the overall improvement of competitiveness of Chinese cities. China's urban development has stepped into a new promotional stage from individual cities to multiple cities. In China's new economic environment, although the overall competitiveness of the city is excellent, the differences between Chinese cities as a whole and within the region cannot be underestimated.

According to the research, the four major bay areas and 10 major urban agglomerations in the world are at different levels, jointly leading the global urban development and supporting the global urban system. San Francisco Bay Area enjoys the highest average economic competitiveness among four bay areas, followed by Tokyo Bay Area, New York Bay Area, and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Among the Top 10 urban agglomerations in the world, the urban agglomeration ofNorthern California of the USA enjoys the highest average economic competitiveness, followed by the urban agglomeration of Northeastern United States, the national urban agglomeration of Seoul, the urban agglomeration of Rhine - Ruhrand that of MidwesternUnited States, of London-Liverpool, of Netherlands-Belgium, of Yangtze River Delta, of Pearl River Delta, and that of Mumbai Metropolis.

The Top 20 Cities with Sustainable Competitiveness in the Worldin 2018 are New York, Tokyo, London, Singapore, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Boston, Seattle, Houston, Toronto, Osaka, Sydney, San Francisco, Seoul, Paris, Chicago, Amsterdam, Vancouver, San Jose and Atlanta. Amongthe Top 20 cities, 11 onesare located in North America, threeonesin Western Europe, fiveonesin Asia, and onein Oceaniaand 19 cities are located in Europe, America and Asia. Among the Top 100 Cities with Sustainable Competitiveness with World, the cities of Western Europe and North America have absolute advantages in quantity. In terms of the urban agglomeration, the proportion of urban agglomerations in the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom is relatively high. Although there are many large-scale urban agglomerations in developing countries in South America and Southeast Asia, such as China, India, Brazil and Indonesia, there are only a few urban agglomerations entering the Top 100 Cities relatively. In terms of the index of aggregation and association degrees, the size of high-income population of cities with less aggregation and association degrees has greater influence on their sustainable competitiveness.

According to the research, the sustainable competitiveness of cities is obviously distributed in an olive shape, and the sustainable competitiveness of Asia continues to improve. The level of economic development is highly positively related to the overall performance of urban sustainable competitiveness. High-level equilibrium is the best goal and path to promote urban sustainable competitiveness. Technological innovation and the potential of human capital have the greatest impact, and the positive effect is amplified by direct, indirect and feedback effects. In terms of the sustainable competitiveness, Hong Kong has entered the Top 10 in the world, Beijing and Shanghai in the Top 30, Taipei and Shenzhen in the Top 50, and Guangzhou into the Top 100.

According to the research, in terms of the sustainable competitiveness of the four major Bay Areas across the world, Tokyo Bay Area manifests the best performance, while Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, with a low starting point, lags behind the other three major Bay Areas but is struggling to catch up with its counterparts. On average, Tokyo Bay Area boasts the highest standard of sustainable competitiveness, followed by San Francisco Bay Area, New York Bay Area, and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Among the top 10 urban agglomerations inthe world, the Northeastern Urban agglomeration maintains the soundest momentum, and a few sophisticated urban agglomerations are advancing steadily. Most polarized urban agglomerations hinder the long-term development.The urban agglomeration of Northern California enjoys the highest average economic competitiveness, followed by the urban agglomeration of Northeastern United States, the national urban agglomeration of Seoul, the urban agglomeration of London-Liverpool and that of Rhine – Ruhr, of Midwestern United States, of Netherlands-Belgium, of Yangtze River Delta, of Pearl River Delta, and that of Mumbai Metropolis.

According to the research, Nanjing has gota significant increase in its economic competitiveness from a global perspective. In this connection, Nanjing ranks 45^th among the 1,007 cities in the world, entering the top 50, and 9^th among the 293 cities in China, entering the top 10. Thus, its economic competitiveness is the most competitive. In terms of the sustainable competitiveness, Nanjing ranks 110^th among the 1,007 cities in the world and 8^th among 293 cities in China, entering the top 10. Thereby, its sustainable competitiveness is considerably competitive. Nanjing’s economic competitiveness has risen rapidly in the past decade, with obvious key elements and enormous potential.

According to the overall report, “city” has a new definition in the past 40 years, with globalized functions, network-oriented forms, and intelligence. Firstly, a series of non-agricultural factors have brought about tremendous changes in the city’s definition. The agglomeration of non-agricultural population has gradually picked up thepace, with diversified forms and intangible influence. Besides, in urban communities, consumption, production and exchange activities focus on intangible software, knowledge, ideas and wisdom, instead of tangible materials and service hardware. Secondly, due to the global division of labor, dramatic changes have taken place in the city’s function. City, going beyond local jurisdictions, serves as a link or node of global activities, and provides strong support for the world and consumers in different countries and regions. Thirdly, space competition inthe world has triggered a global network of cities. Those small and medium-sized cities, isolated and concentric as they are, have been replaced by a metropolis cluster featuring well-structured network and multiple hubs.

According to the overall report, during the past four decades, people have completely bid farewell to the agricultural world, which is divided, scattered and exclusive, and entered a new era of interconnection and sharing. On the one hand, more and more cities emerge, where most people in most parts of countries in the world live an orderly life. City, as a driving force, plays a leading role in the world development. It also encircles, penetrates, and breaks through the earth through various tangible and intangible urban networks both in the air and under the ground. On the other hand, the earth is dotted with numerous single-center towns, which form the galaxies of urban agglomeration, and even the sky of global urban network. Therefore, the earth is ushering in a new era of urban agglomeration, the cities are embarking on a new journey of galaxy, and the human beings are openingup a new chapter of city planet.

According to the study, the market system and information technology are the fundamental forces that change the concept of cities and shape the city planet. First, the expansion of the market-oriented economy over the past 40 years has not only led to non-agricultural clustering, but also to the cross-border movement of talents. The market system causes the global labor division of enterprises to affect cities' functions and patterns. Domestic cities and international cities all enhance their infrastructure and urban environment, thus changing the shape of the city. Secondly, information technology has expanded the scale of urban space, supported the global division of labor and proliferation, brought about the development of both the hot and cold regions, the expansion of population models and the increasing differentiation between cities. Thirdly, technological innovation has enabled cities to engage more in the consumption, production and exchange of information, knowledge and ideas, and the definition of cities has been refreshed.

According to the theme report, first of all, the global industrial chain adjustment has broken the inherent industrial system of countries participating in globalization, thus leading to the reshaping of urban patterns in various countries. Second, the adjustment of the global industrial chain has led to the differentiation of global cities as well as the rise and fall of cities in both advanced economies and emerging economies (such as the rise of the US Silicon Valley and the fall of Detroit, the rise of Shenzhen and the fall of Northeastern cities in China). Third, the adjustment and development of the global industrial chain is undergoing the following changes: the labor division of industrial systems among regions and across the globe, that is, the national integration of cities; the global labor division of industrial links among countries, that is, the global integration of countries; and the global labor division of industrial links among regions, that is, the global integration of cities. Fourth, the re-layout of global industries and links has not only led to the upgrading of global central regions and the spread to the global periphery, but also led to the integration of global marginal regions and competition with global central regions. Finally, regional segmentation by country still exists, and the degree of regional segmentation of labor-intensive and capital-intensive manufacturing industries has weakened, but the degree of regional segmentation of technology-intensive manufacturing and financial insurance has increased.

The city story part of the theme report screens out seven typical cities such as Mexico City, Seattle, Gaspe, Montreal and Hong Kong among more than 1,000 cities around the world based on the relationship between the global industry chain and urban competitiveness, and summarizes the experience and practices of these cities in terms of the high-end global value chain and the enhancement of their competitiveness, so as to provide a reference for global cities.

This report is the third part of the annual report on global urban competitiveness jointly launched by the National Academy of Economic Strategy, CASS and United Nations Human Settlements Programme. Using the indicator system and objective data, the report provides a detailed assessment of the competitiveness of 1,007 global cities. The report measures the development pattern of global urban competitiveness as a whole and discusses important theoretical and practical issues in global urban development. The report is an important reference for decision making and researches conducted by urban government authorities around the world, domestic and foreign enterprises, relevant research institutions, and the public.