Cities are important engines of economic growth and windows for observing the quality of a major country's economy. Recently, economic data for the first quarter of major cities in China have been released one after another - the gross domestic product (GDP) of Shanghai and Beijing both exceeded one trillion yuan; Guangzhou's GDP growth rate ranks among the top in first tier cities, and the results of the transformation of old and new driving forces are beginning to show; The growth rates of foreign trade in Xi'an, Chongqing, and Shenzhen reached 74.2%, 34.3%, and 33.6%, respectively; The added value of high-tech manufacturing above designated size in Wuhan increased by 45.4%... A series of impressive data demonstrate the effectiveness of development. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to lead development with the new development concept, accelerate the cultivation of new driving forces, promote the optimization and upgrading of economic structure, optimize increment, activate stock, and maintain effective improvement in quality and reasonable growth in quantity. From the perspective of the city's appearance. The new progress and new atmosphere of promoting high-quality development in major cities reflect the strong pulse of China's economy in the first year of the 15th Five Year Plan, and confirm the resilience and vitality of China's economy in moving forward steadily in a complex external environment. The impressive growth rate of the "first quarter report" shows a new beginning and opens up the map of China's economy, with the leading role of first tier cities particularly prominent. In the first quarter of this year, the GDP of Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou reached 1352.691 billion yuan, 1293.15 billion yuan, 959.413 billion yuan, and 798.888 billion yuan respectively, ranking among the top four in the country; They increased by 5.9%, 5.9%, 5.8%, and 6.0% respectively, all outperforming the national average growth rate. In addition to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, cities such as Suzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan, and Hangzhou also lead the national average growth rate by over 0.5 percentage points. From the number of "trillion cities" in China in 2025 to 29, to the first quarter of this year when many cities grew faster than the national average, the level of urban development in China has accelerated, and the "leading goose effect" of high-quality development continues to be released on the land of China. How can major cities accelerate high-quality development in the face of complex and ever-changing external environments and opportunities and challenges in transformational development? Shanghai has introduced version 4.0 of the "First Launch Shanghai" policy, supporting shopping malls, commercial streets, commercial districts, cultural and creative parks, and other venues to undertake high-level first launch, first show, and first exhibition activities, and create first launch centers; Guangzhou continues to implement the detailed policy of exchanging old for new, driving the consumption of goods such as automobiles, 3C digital products, and home appliances to over 10 billion yuan in the first quarter... Major cities have launched a series of policies to promote consumption, deeply integrating business, travel, culture, and sports, and promoting both urban prosperity and economic vitality. In the first quarter, Shanghai and Chongqing achieved a total retail sales of consumer goods of 428.149 billion yuan and 427.814 billion yuan respectively, ranking among the top cities in China in terms of scale; The total retail sales of consumer goods in Guangzhou, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Chengdu increased by 6.6%, 5.5%, 3.9%, and 2.9% respectively, all higher than the national average. Investment is an important way and effective means to stabilize growth and promote development. In the first quarter, fixed assets investment in Guangzhou increased by 9.8% year on year, 16.5 percentage points higher than that of last year; Fixed assets investment in Shanghai increased by 7.6% year on year, of which the purchase of equipment and tools increased by 72.4%; Shenzhen's investment in scientific research and technology services increased by 173.8%; Suzhou's industrial investment increased by 15.8%... Various regions are taking the expansion of effective investment as a starting point, filling in the gaps in construction, optimizing investment structure, and accumulating momentum and empowerment for expanding domestic demand and stabilizing growth. Despite the strong external environment, the foreign trade performance of many cities is still impressive. Taking Shenzhen, which has obvious characteristics of an outward oriented economy, as an example. In the first quarter, the total import and export volume of Shenzhen reached a historical high of approximately 1.32 trillion yuan, an increase of 33.6%. From a product perspective, the total import and export of integrated circuits, storage components, and computer accessories related to artificial intelligence amounted to 429.16 billion yuan, an increase of 63.7%. New growth points have emerged beyond the "new three types" of new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaics. Based on reality and differentiated development, some cities' foreign trade continues to maintain a steady and progressive trend, further demonstrating resilience and vitality. In the first quarter, Chongqing's import and export increased by 34.3% year-on-year, with a growth rate 30.2 percentage points higher than the same period last year, including a 70.5% increase in automobile exports; The total import and export value of Xi'an reached RMB 1819.2 billion, a year-on-year increase of 74.2%, with both scale and growth rate reaching a new historical high for the same period; Suzhou's high-tech product exports reached 267.57 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 36.1%. Among them, the export value of lithium batteries, photovoltaic products, 3D printers, industrial robots, pharmaceuticals and other products increased by 57.4%, 59.4%, 90.7%, 1.8 times and 2.4 times respectively... Looking closely at the foreign trade structure of these cities, the export growth of artificial intelligence products, green power equipment and other products is relatively high, and high-tech and high value-added electromechanical products are leading the way, demonstrating the transformation of exports from "quantity increase" to "quality improvement". In the first quarter of the 15th Five Year Plan, facing a significant increase in external instability and uncertainty, as well as the spillover effects of geopolitical conflicts, many cities in China still maintain a strong development momentum, achieving tangible results in effectively improving the overall quality and reasonable growth in quantity, fully demonstrating the resilience and potential of the Chinese economy. ”Dong Yu, Executive Vice President of the China Development Planning Institute at Tsinghua University, said. In the first quarter of the year, Guangzhou performed outstandingly among cities in China with a growth rate of 6%, attracting attention for the upgrading of the kinetic energy conversion industry and activating the growth engine. Looking back at the economic growth rate of Guangzhou in recent years, it was 1% in 2022, rebounded to 4.6% in 2023, and then dropped to 2.1% in 2024. After that, it continued to climb and returned to a steady growth track. Behind this is Guangzhou's continuous efforts to transform old and new driving forces. Automobile manufacturing is one of the three pillar industries in Guangzhou. In the first quarter, Guangzhou's automobile manufacturing industry grew by 5.5%, and the production of new energy vehicles increased by 36.1% year-on-year, maintaining a good development trend. While the traditional pillar industry of automobile manufacturing is accelerating its upgrading towards intelligence, electrification, and digitization, emerging industries are accumulating momentum: in the first quarter, the added value of Guangzhou's integrated circuit, intelligent consumer equipment, electronic components, and electronic special materials manufacturing industries increased by 1.1 times, 25.0%, and 23.0% respectively, while the output of analog chips, displays, and service robots increased by 25.1%, 15.6%, and 11.0% respectively... Accelerating the renewal of old driving forces, actively cultivating new driving forces, developing new quality productivity according to local conditions, and promoting industrial structure optimization and upgrading in the process of upholding integrity and innovation are important inspirations behind the impressive "first quarter reports" of many cities. In industrial cities such as Wuhan, Nanchang, and Qingdao, the manufacturing industry continues to climb towards the high-end of the industrial value chain. In the first quarter, the added value of Wuhan's high-tech manufacturing industry above designated size increased by 45.4%, accounting for 30.6% of the proportion of industrial enterprises above designated size, and contributing 88.3% to industrial growth; The new materials, new energy, and electronic information industry chains in Nanchang have developed rapidly, with the added value of large-scale industries increasing by 26.9%, 21.9%, and 17.9% respectively. In cities such as Beijing and Shanghai where the "ballast stone" role of the service industry is prominent, the scale of the service industry is steadily expanding and the structure is continuously optimized. In the first quarter, Beijing's service industry achieved an added value of 1.1 trillion yuan, accounting for 88% of the city's GDP. Among them, the revenue growth rate of industries such as information technology services, digital technology applications, and emerging software development exceeds double digits, and the revenue growth rate of industries related to integrated circuit design exceeds 40%. The integration and development of advanced manufacturing and modern service industries are accelerating, and the "multi wheel drive" has made the engine of economic growth more powerful. In the first quarter, on the basis of strengthening traditional strengths such as finance and information services, Shanghai's added value of industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 6.2%, which is the first time in recent years that the growth rate is higher than that of national industrial enterprises above designated size and higher than the city's GDP. Innovation is the only way to promote the smooth transition of old and new driving forces. Wuhan is building an innovation and development belt around universities, promoting the on-site incubation and transformation of more scientific and technological achievements; Jinan is accelerating the construction and operation of a pilot public service platform for the manufacturing industry, and building a number of enterprise technology centers with high standards... Major cities are continuously improving their scientific and technological innovation systems and service systems, unblocking institutional and mechanism barriers in the connection between innovation chains and industrial chains, and enabling innovation to bring "multiplier effects" to urban economic development. Based on our own industrial advantages, we need to explore breakthroughs according to local conditions in order to better promote the development of new quality productivity in the transition from old to new. In Harbin, crop protection drones soar and shuttle through rice fields, becoming the "main force" of spring plowing and field management; In Xi'an, hundreds of devices operate efficiently in intelligent manufacturing factories; In Zhengzhou, e-commerce hosts promote imported goods to consumers through live broadcasts, and the warehouse operation system synchronizes orders and logistics data in real-time to the customs clearance platform... Each scene vividly illustrates the beginning of China's economy and profoundly reveals the development path towards "new" breakthroughs and "quality". The demonstration leads the release of radiation and driving effects from urban engines, entering the Meishan New Energy and New Materials Integration Innovation Center in Sichuan Province. Researchers are monitoring data for the experimental verification project of the next-generation lithium-ion battery carbon based negative electrode material of Chengdu Sicarbon Lithium New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. Since its operation over a year ago, the center has served 6 projects from Chengdu. Industrial synergy and innovation empowerment make the Chengdu metropolitan area more dynamic in its urbanization development. In the first quarter, the total economic output of the Chengdu metropolitan area, with Chengdu, Deyang, Meishan, and Ziyang as the main cities, was 784.263 billion yuan, accounting for 48.8% of Sichuan Province and becoming the "main engine" driving high-quality economic development in Sichuan. The coordinated linkage of urban agglomerations can better activate new driving forces for regional development. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that the urban agglomerations of Beijing Tianjin Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, and Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area should be developed into world-class urban agglomerations, and the Chengdu Chongqing and Yangtze River Midstream urban agglomerations should be promoted as high-quality development growth poles, enhancing the supporting role of urban agglomerations and metropolitan areas in the central, western, and northeastern regions for regional coordinated development. From Beijing to the Beijing Tianjin Hebei region, from Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing to the Yangtze River Delta region, from Guangzhou and Shenzhen to the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, from Chongqing and Chengdu to the Chengdu Chongqing dual city economic circle, from Wuhan, Changsha, Nanchang to the middle reaches of the Yangtze River urban agglomeration... Each city's "locomotive" plays a leading and radiating role in promoting regional coordinated development and demonstrating new achievements in integrating and serving the construction of a new development pattern. The Central Economic Work Conference held in December last year proposed the construction of international science and technology innovation centers in Beijing (Beijing Tianjin Hebei), Shanghai (Yangtze River Delta), and the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, expanding the Beijing International Science and Technology Innovation Center to the Beijing Tianjin Hebei region and the Shanghai International Science and Technology Innovation Center to the Yangtze River Delta. Beijing, together with Tianjin and Hebei, continues to promote the integration of innovation chain and industrial chain. The joint establishment of the Natural Science Foundation of China has facilitated close cooperation among more than 700 research teams; Shanghai has joined hands with Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui provinces to jointly build the Shanghai (Yangtze River Delta) International Science and Technology Innovation Center. The G60 Major Science and Technology Innovation Platform Alliance, Enterprise Overseas Service Alliance, Low altitude Economic Collaborative Innovation Alliance, and other alliances have emerged one after another... Cross regional science and technology innovation collaboration is growing rapidly, releasing new momentum for economic development. In the past, we had to run through several departments to handle business, but now 'Yun Xiao Er' has taken the initiative to come and help us coordinate resources and solve difficulties like a butler. It's so thoughtful. ”In Nanyuan Street, Linping District, Hangzhou City, a business leader who settled in the Yingbin Business Community gave a thumbs up to the community service. Serving enterprises like serving residents, timely responding to enterprise needs, providing feedback on enterprise demands, and welcoming the opening of the business community is a microcosm of Hangzhou's efforts to promote the improvement of the business environment through reform. Further deepening reforms, continuously optimizing the business environment, and striving to achieve both "flexibility" and "effective management" are necessary to better stimulate market vitality. Nanjing has released a two-year action plan for the comprehensive reform of market-oriented allocation of factors, proposing specific measures in seven key areas including technology, land, human resources, data, capital, resource environment, and coordinated allocation of factors; Beijing releases fusion