Shenzhen, with a brand value of US$422.3 billion, has advanced five places to the 37th position in the annual Global Top 500 Cities ranking compiled and released by Global City Lab in New York on Monday.

The threshold for the 2020 Global Top 500 Cities list is US$18.51 billion, which is slightly less compared to US$19.22 billion in 2019.

The top 500 cities are located throughout 125 countries. Of the countries, the United States ranks first with 65 cities, and China ranks second with 39 cities.

Japan ranks third with 27 cities. The United Kingdom, India and Germany tied for fourth place this year, with 24 listed cities.

The analytical report says the Chinese cities represented by Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing are chasing the international cities in Europe and America and making innovations and changes in economic, social and cultural aspects.

The report declares New York to be the world’s most valuable city, with a brand value of US$2.03 trillion. Tokyo and London take second and third places with US$1.88 trillion and US$1.85 trillion, respectively. Paris and Sydney have brand values surpassing US$1 trillion. Hong Kong is still the only Chinese city in the top 10, dropping one place to the 10th position with a brand value of US$773.7 trillion.

A city’s brand represents the comprehensive strength of the city. It also affects the potential for future development of the city because it determines the flow of capital, information, goods and talent to the city.

Looking at the top 10 countries, there are five European countries.

Due to the impact of the pandemic, global economic development has almost stagnated or even receded. At the same time, the pandemic has also tested the governance capabilities of city governments. The city is no longer a separate economy, but a body of interest closely linked to the development and management of the surrounding areas and the world.

Among the 14 new entrants to the top 500 ranking this year, three cities, namely Quanzhou, Taichung and Hefei, come from China. As the mainland has taken effective measures to contain COVID-19 and resume production, the ranking of other cities like Chengdu, Nanjing and Hangzhou have also advanced.

Global City Lab is the world’s first professional organization engaged in city brand value evaluation. It calculates the brand value of major cities in various countries using the six dimensions of: economic growth, culture, governance, environment, talent and reputation.