Shenzhen dethrones Shanghai, Beijing as China’s top industrial powerhouse, mayor boasts

The southern Chinese metropolis of Shenzhen has handed in a glowing report card of technological and economic development, surpassing Shanghai and Beijing as the nation’s largest manufacturing and exporting city while solidifying a lead in artificial intelligence and start-up cultivation, its mayor has revealed.Shenzhen’s economy grew from 2.83 trillion yuan in 2020 to 3.87 trillion yuan (US$560 billion) in 2025. The city’s annualised growth rate of 5.5 per cent over that period also represented Shenzhen’s gross domestic product increase for 2025 alone, outperforming Beijing and Shanghai, which both reported 5.4 per cent growth for the year.Shenzhen also leapfrogged Shanghai and Beijing in industrial output and import and export value last year, Mayor Qin Weizhong said in his annual work report delivered to the local people’s congress on February 9.The report – a review of economic and social achievements, as well as a blueprint for 2026, outlining goals and strategies – was released in full on Tuesday.Shenzhen appears poised to bolster its role in China’s economic and tech strategies, as the city prepares to host a summit of leaders from Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation members in November. Hosting the summit will provide Shenzhen with a global platform to highlight its economic model and tech advancements, and China is expected to use the summit to defend globalisation amid intense tech and geopolitical competition.Underpinning its vibrancy, Shenzhen boasts the highest research-and-development density among mainland cities, Qin claimed in his report, adding that the computing power of the local branch of the National Supercomputing Centre also ranked among the world’s best.