The Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences: Deeply Grasping the Strategic Orientation of Connotative Urban Development

The Central Urban Work Conference, held this July after a ten-year interval, marks an important milestone in the history of China’s urban development and defines the new historical position in which China’s cities now find themselves. The important speech delivered by General Secretary Xi Jinping at this conference provides the fundamental guidance for urban work in the New Era and the new journey, and points the way toward a new path of Chinese-characteristic urban modernization. The conference clarified the overall requirements for urban work in the current and upcoming period, including “taking the promotion of high-quality urban development as the theme and adhering to connotative urban development as the main line,” and called for “deeply grasping the strategic orientation of connotative urban development so as to improve the quality of urban development in a more targeted manner.” The recently issued *Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Promoting High-Quality Urban Development* (hereinafter referred to as the *Opinions*) is a thorough implementation of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important discourses on urban work and the spirit of the Central Urban Work Conference. It further clarifies the overall requirements, main objectives, and key tasks for accelerating the transformation of urban development models and promoting high-quality urban development. We must comprehensively implement General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important discourses on urban work and the spirit of the Central Urban Work Conference, carry out the specific requirements and deployments set forth in the *Opinions*, deeply grasp the strategic orientation, contemporary significance, rich connotations, and practical requirements of connotative urban development, and vigorously promote the optimization of urban structure, the transformation of growth drivers, the enhancement of quality, the green transition, the continuation of cultural heritage, and the improvement of governance, so as to continuously create a new situation in the construction of modern people’s cities.

今年7月，时隔10年再次举行的中央城市工作会议，在我国城市发展历史上具有重要的里程碑意义，标定了我国城市发展所处的历史新方位。习近平总书记在这次会议上发表的重要讲话，为做好新时代新征程的城市工作提供了根本遵循，为走出一条中国特色城市现代化新路子指明了方向。会议明确了当前和今后一个时期城市工作的总体要求，其中包括“以推动城市高质量发展为主题，以坚持城市内涵式发展为主线”，并要求“深刻把握城市内涵式发展的战略取向，更有针对性地提升城市发展质量”。近日印发的《中共中央国务院关于推动城市高质量发展的意见》（以下简称《意见》），是对习近平总书记关于城市工作的重要论述和中央城市工作会议精神的深入贯彻落实，进一步明确了加快城市发展方式转型、推动城市高质量发展的总体要求、主要目标和重点任务。我们要全面贯彻习近平总书记关于城市工作的重要论述和中央城市工作会议精神，落实好《意见》提出的具体要求和部署，深刻把握城市内涵式发展的战略取向、时代意义、丰富内涵和实践要求，大力推动城市结构优化、动能转换、品质提升、绿色转型、文脉赓续、治理增效，不断开创现代化人民城市建设新局面。

Deeply grasping the strategic orientation of connotative urban development has important contemporary significance and rich connotative implications.

深刻把握城市内涵式发展的战略取向，具有重要的时代意义和丰富的内涵意蕴

Connotative development is an important concept advocated by General Secretary Xi Jinping. At the 2015 Central Urban Work Conference, General Secretary Xi Jinping stated: “We must adhere to intensive development, establish the concepts of ‘smart growth’ and ‘compact cities,’ scientifically delineate urban development boundaries, and promote the transformation of urban development from an extensive expansion model to a connotative improvement model.” At that time, China’s urbanization was still in a stage of rapid development. This important discourse reflects General Secretary Xi Jinping’s profound thinking and forward-looking planning for urban development. Subsequently, during local inspections, General Secretary Xi Jinping repeatedly emphasized connotative development. For example, during an inspection in Shanghai in 2019, he called for “rationally arranging production, living, and ecological spaces, and taking a connotative, intensive, and green path of high-quality development.” During an inspection in Tianjin in 2024, he pointed out: “We must adhere to the path of connotative development, innovate urban governance, strengthen the construction of resilient and safe cities, actively implement urban renewal actions, enhance development potential, optimize development space, and continuously improve urban formats, functions, and quality.”

内涵式发展是习近平总书记倡导的一个重要理念。在2015年中央城市工作会议上，习近平总书记就提出：“要坚持集约发展，树立‘精明增长’、‘紧凑城市’理念，科学划定城市开发边界，推动城市发展由外延扩张式向内涵提升式转变。”当时我国城镇化还处于快速发展阶段，这一重要论述体现出习近平总书记对城市发展的深刻思考和前瞻布局。此后在地方考察时，习近平总书记多次强调内涵式发展，比如，2019年在上海考察时要求“合理安排生产、生活、生态空间，走内涵式、集约型、绿色化的高质量发展路子”，2024年在天津考察时指出“要坚持走内涵式发展路子，创新城市治理，加强韧性安全城市建设，积极实施城市更新行动，增强发展潜力、优化发展空间，推动城市业态、功能、品质不断提升”等。

Connotation is the opposite of extension. Connotation generally refers to the essential characteristics of a thing, that is, its qualitative determination; extension generally refers to the totality of objects that reflect a certain essential attribute, that is, its quantitative determination. Correspondingly, connotative development uses internal factors of a thing as the driving force and resources for development, emphasizing qualitative development; extensional development mainly refers to quantitative growth, scale expansion, and spatial extension, manifesting primarily as external expansion. Promoting connotative development is mainly achieved through in-depth internal reform, optimizing structure, stimulating vitality, and, in the process of quantitative change leading to qualitative change, enhancing strength and competitiveness.

内涵是与外延相对的，通常指事物的本质特征，即质的规定性；外延一般是指反映某一本质属性的全部对象，即量的规定性。与此相对应，内涵式发展就是以事物内部因素作为动力和资源推动发展，强调质的发展；外延式发展主要是指数量增长、规模扩大、空间拓展，所表现出的主要是外形扩张。推动内涵式发展，主要是通过事物内部的深入改革，优化结构、激发活力，在量变引发质变的过程中，增强实力、提高竞争力。

Cities are centers of economic, political, cultural, and social activities. To deeply grasp the strategic orientation of connotative urban development, we must, within scientifically delineated scale limits and development boundaries, promote the coordination of economy, environment, and society in an intensive and efficient manner through optimizing spatial layout, improving the living environment, and perfecting the governance system, thereby achieving higher-quality, more efficient, and more sustainable development. A city is a complex system formed by a large number of elements and their interactions. The implications of connotative urban development are rich. At the economic level, it emphasizes innovation-driven development, focusing on improving total factor productivity within existing resource constraints through technological progress, institutional optimization, and management improvement. At the spatial level, it emphasizes stock optimization, focusing on intensive land use and improved spatial efficiency, striving to solve problems such as job-housing imbalance and idle resources through urban renewal and transit-oriented comprehensive development. At the environmental level, it emphasizes green development, achieving harmony between humans and nature and mutual benefit between development and ecology through ecological protection, pollution control, and low-carbon transformation. At the governance level, it emphasizes fine governance, paying more attention to the supply of high-quality public services such as education, medical care, elderly care, and childcare, continuously enhancing residents’ sense of gain, happiness, and security. At the cultural level, it emphasizes the protection and inheritance of historical culture, building civilized cities by shaping city brands and creating distinctive cultural landscapes, and so on.

城市是经济、政治、文化、社会等方面活动的中心。深刻把握城市内涵式发展的战略取向，就要在科学划定的规模范围和开发边界内，通过优化空间布局、提升人居环境、完善治理体系等途径，以集约高效的方式推动经济、环境、社会协调配合，实现更高质量、更有效率、更可持续的发展。城市是由大量元素及其相互作用形成的一个复杂系统，城市内涵式发展的意蕴十分丰富。在经济层面，强调创新驱动，注重依靠科技进步、制度优化、管理提升等手段，在既有资源约束下提升全要素生产率；在空间层面，强调存量优化，注重土地集约利用和空间效益提升，力求通过城市更新、以公共交通为导向的综合开发等方式，破解职住失衡、资源闲置等问题；在环境层面，注重绿色发展，通过生态保护、污染治理和低碳转型等方式，实现人与自然和谐共生、发展与生态相得益彰；在治理层面，强调精细治理，更加注重教育、医疗、养老、托育等优质公共服务供给，不断增强居民获得感、幸福感和安全感；在文化层面，强调历史文化保护与传承，通过塑造城市名片、营造特色文化景观等，建设文明城市；等等。

Since the New Era, China’s cities have entered a new period of development. The Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has deeply grasped the laws of China’s urban development under the new circumstances, adhered to the Party’s overall leadership over urban work, and promoted historic achievements in China’s urban development. This Central Urban Work Conference made a major judgment of “two shifts” [n] regarding the historical position of China’s urban development. Based on this new historical position and actively adapting to changes in the situation, we must accurately grasp the strategic orientation of connotative urban development and improve the quality of urban development in a more targeted manner.

新时代以来，我国城市进入新的发展时期。以习近平同志为核心的党中央深刻把握新形势下我国城市发展规律，坚持党对城市工作的全面领导，推动我国城市发展取得历史性成就。这次中央城市工作会议对我国城市发展所处历史方位作出了“两个转向”的重大判断。立足新的历史方位、主动适应形势变化，我们必须把准城市内涵式发展的战略取向，更有针对性地提升城市发展质量。

From the perspective of the laws of urban development, an urbanization rate of 30% to 70% is generally considered the rapid urbanization development range. Entering the middle and late stages of rapid urbanization, some notable characteristics will become concentrated. For example, the speed of urbanization will shift from high-speed growth to medium-high-speed growth; urban development will shift to a stage where scale expansion and quality improvement are equally important; the level of urban public services and urban management capacity will be unable to meet the needs of rapid urban development, and various “urban diseases” may erupt in a concentrated manner; and so on. Overall, problems arising from unreasonable urban development models will become apparent, with diminishing marginal utility of cities and continuously increasing resource and environmental costs and social costs. Developed countries have mostly responded to these problems by promoting urban renewal and stock adjustment. Through sustained development, China has completed the urbanization process that took Western developed countries over a hundred years in just a few decades. Urbanization has entered the middle and late stages of rapid development. By the end of 2024, the permanent resident urbanization rate reached 67%, with 940 million people working and living in cities and towns. At the same time, the extensive, extensional development model formed during China’s rapid urbanization process has brought many problems. For example, the intensity of urban development is too high, “big city diseases” such as land-use imbalance, air pollution, and traffic congestion are prominent, and the sustainability of urban development is affected. To effectively solve these problems, it is urgent to correct erroneous tendencies such as blind expansion “spreading like a pancake” [n], and, on the basis of understanding, respecting, and conforming to the laws of urban development, deeply grasp the strategic orientation of connotative urban development. We must coordinate the three major links of planning, construction, and management, and promote the steady and long-term progress of high-quality urban development through measures such as improving the efficiency of existing spatial stock, optimizing resource utilization efficiency, rationally delineating urban development boundaries, and revitalizing idle and inefficient land.

从城市发展规律来看，城镇化率30%～70%一般被认为是城镇化快速发展区间。进入城镇化快速发展中后期，一些显著特点会集中显现。比如，城镇化速度将从高速增长转向中高速增长、城市发展将转向规模扩张和质量提升并重阶段；城市公共服务水平、城市管理能力等不能适应城市快速发展的需求，各种“城市病”有可能集中爆发；等等。总的来看，城市发展方式不合理带来的问题将显现，城市边际效用逐渐递减、资源环境成本和社会成本将不断递增。发达国家大都通过推动城市更新、促进存量调整等来应对这些问题。经过持续发展，我国用几十年时间完成了西方发达国家上百年的城市化历程，城镇化已经步入快速发展的中后期，2024年末常住人口城镇化率达到67%、9.4亿人工作和生活在城镇。同时，我国在高速城镇化过程中形成的粗放外延式发展方式带来了诸多问题。比如，城市开发强度过高，人地失衡、空气污染、交通堵塞等“大城市病”凸显，城市发展可持续性受到影响。有效解决这些问题，迫切需要纠正盲目扩张“摊大饼”等错误倾向，在认识、尊重并顺应城市发展规律的基础上，深刻把握城市内涵式发展的战略取向。要统筹规划、建设、管理三大环节，通过提升存量空间效益、优化资源利用效率、合理划定城镇开发边界、盘活闲置低效用地等措施，推动城市高质量发展行稳致远。

From the perspective of urban development conditions, cities are the spatial carriers of economic activities, and changes in the stage of economic development inevitably impose constraints and guidance on urban development goals, forms, and drivers. Currently, China’s 19 city clusters carry approximately 75% of the national population and contribute about 85% of the gross domestic product, occupying an important position in China’s economy. In the process of the synchronous development of the new type of industrialization, informatization, urbanization, and agricultural modernization, urbanization serves as the carrier and platform, bearing the spatial development of the new type of industrialization and informatization, driving the accelerated development of agricultural modernization, and playing an irreplaceable integrating role. Entering the new stage of development, the factor conditions, combination modes, and allocation efficiency of China’s economic development have changed, and the old combination modes of production functions have become unsustainable. For this reason, we take adhering to high-quality development as the firm principle of the New Era, [3]3 “The firm principle of the New Era” (新时代的硬道理) is a phrase from the 2023 Central Economic Work Conference, which stated that “high-quality development is the firm principle of the New Era,” updating the earlier formulation that “development is the firm principle.” focusing on transforming the development model, optimizing the economic structure, and shifting growth drivers, promoting quality change through efficiency change and driver change. China’s economic development has shifted from a stage of high-speed growth to a stage of high-quality development, placing new and higher demands on urban development. The policies and institutions formed during the past period of urban incremental expansion—from local debt management to fiscal and financial measures—are no longer suited to the needs of the evolving situation. Added to this is the fact that China’s current population development exhibits trend characteristics of declining birth rates, aging, and regional differentiation in population increase and decrease; urban population growth will gradually shift to a plateau period. This urgently requires cultivating and strengthening new drivers of urban development through reform and opening up. Guided by the new development philosophy, [4]4 The new development philosophy refers to the five concepts of innovative, coordinated, green, open, and shared development, formally adopted at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee in 2015. deeply grasping the strategic orientation of connotative urban development—setting total limits, restricting capacity, revitalizing existing stock, optimizing incremental growth, and improving quality—is the only way to continuously enhance the urban environmental quality, people’s quality of life, and urban competitiveness. This is also conducive to releasing domestic demand potential, raising labor productivity, promoting social fairness and justice and common prosperity for all the people, and thereby helping to drive the economy to achieve effective qualitative improvement and reasonable quantitative growth.

从城市发展条件看，城市是经济活动的空间载体，经济发展阶段的转变必然会对城市发展目标、形态、动能等产生约束和引导。当前，我国19个城市群承载了全国75%左右的人口，贡献了85%左右的国内生产总值，在我国经济中具有重要地位。在新型工业化、信息化、城镇化、农业现代化同步发展过程中，城镇化是载体和平台，承载新型工业化和信息化发展空间，带动农业现代化加快发展，发挥着不可替代的融合作用。进入新发展阶段，我国经济发展的要素条件、组合方式、配置效率发生改变，旧的生产函数组合方式已经难以持续。为此，我们把坚持高质量发展作为新时代的硬道理，着力转变发展方式、优化经济结构、转换增长动力，以效率变革、动力变革促进质量变革。我国经济发展从高速发展阶段转向高质量发展阶段，对城市发展提出了新的更高要求，过去城市增量扩张过程中形成的从地方债务管理到财政金融举措等政策制度已不适应形势发展需要。加上当前我国人口发展呈现少子化、老龄化、区域人口增减分化的趋势性特征，城镇人口增长将逐步转向平台期，迫切需要通过改革开放培育、增强城市发展新动能。以新发展理念为引领，深刻把握城市内涵式发展的战略取向，框定总量、限定容量、盘活存量、做优增量、提高质量，才能不断提升城市环境质量、人民生活质量、城市竞争力。这也有利于释放内需潜力、提高劳动生产率、促进社会公平正义和全体人民共同富裕，进而助力推动经济实现质的有效提升和量的合理增长。

From the perspective of the purpose of urban development, the core of the city is the people, and urban development must adhere to a people-centered approach. The essence of urbanization in Western capitalist countries is the urbanization of capital, not the urbanization of people. Under the capitalist system, urban space becomes a special commodity incorporated into the system of surplus value production, and the purpose of urbanization remains the pursuit of profit maximization. China’s urbanization process is not driven by capital. Since the New Era, our Party has made serving the people wholeheartedly and providing the people with meticulous urban governance and good public services the focus of urban work, taking whether the people are satisfied and whether their lives are convenient as important criteria for judging whether urban work is done well. Through sustained development, the living standards of China’s residents have significantly improved. After becoming prosperous, they increasingly pursue a high quality of life and have higher expectations for livable urban living. To better meet the people’s aspiration for a better life, we must adhere to the principle that the people’s city is built by the people and for the people, and deeply grasp the strategic orientation of connotative urban development. It is necessary to grasp the intrinsic connections among production space, living space, and ecological space, focus on solving the most direct and realistic issues of greatest concern to the people, and continuously improve urban functions. Only then can we, while improving the quality of urban development, achieve intensive and efficient production space, livable and moderate living space, and clear waters and green mountains in ecological space, enabling the people to live more conveniently, comfortably, and beautifully in the city.

从城市发展目的看，城市的核心是人，城市发展要坚持以人为本。西方资本主义国家城市化的本质是资本的城市化而非人的城市化。在资本主义制度下，城市空间成为一种特殊商品被纳入剩余价值生产体系，城市化的目的仍然是追求利润最大化。我国的城镇化进程不是资本驱动的。新时代以来，我们党把全心全意为人民服务、为人民群众提供精细的城市治理和良好的公共服务作为城市工作的重头，把老百姓满意不满意、生活方便不方便作为评判城市工作做得好不好的重要标准。经过持续发展，我国居民生活水平显著提高，在富起来之后更加追求高品质生活，对城市宜居生活的期待也越来越高。更好满足人民对美好生活的向往，必须坚持人民城市人民建、人民城市为人民，深刻把握城市内涵式发展的战略取向。要把握好生产空间、生活空间、生态空间的内在联系，聚焦解决人民群众最关心最直接最现实的利益问题，不断完善城市功能，才能在提高城市发展质量的同时，实现生产空间集约高效、生活空间宜居适度、生态空间山清水秀，让人民群众在城市生活得更方便、更舒心、更美好。

To deeply grasp the strategic orientation of connotative urban development, it is essential to accurately grasp the important principle of “five transformations, five greater emphases.” [5]5 “Five transformations, five greater emphases” (五个转变、五个更加) is a specific policy formulation from the Central Urban Work Conference; the five pairs are: transforming the concept to be more people-centered, transforming the model to be more intensive and efficient, transforming the drivers to be more innovation-driven, transforming the focus to be more on improving quality, and transforming the approach to be more systematic and holistic.

深刻把握城市内涵式发展的战略取向，要准确把握“五个转变、五个更加”的重要原则

This Central Urban Work Conference [6]6 The Central Urban Work Conference (中央城市工作会议) refers to a high-level meeting on urban policy; the most recent was held in December 2015, and the text here appears to refer to a subsequent meeting or a continuation of its framework. put forward the important principle of “five transformations, five greater emphases” around adhering to connotative urban development, clarifying the dialectics of doing urban work well. To deeply grasp the strategic orientation of connotative urban development, these important principles must be upheld.

这次中央城市工作会议围绕坚持城市内涵式发展提出了“五个转变、五个更加”的重要原则，明确了做好城市工作的辩证法。深刻把握城市内涵式发展的战略取向，必须坚持好这些重要原则。

Overall, the “five transformations, five greater emphases” are a governance framework with guiding and forward-looking significance, distilled on the basis of a comprehensive analysis of the stage of development of China’s productive forces, historical and cultural characteristics, etc. It is formed by profoundly summarizing the experiences and lessons of world urban development, grasping the future trends of urban development, proceeding from the basic national conditions of China’s primary stage of socialism, and based on the new situation facing China’s urban work on the new journey of the New Era. The “five transformations, five greater emphases” involve transformations in the concepts, methods, drivers, focus, and approaches of urban work—a systemic change. They are both consistent with and advance with the times in relation to the “one respect, five overall plans” [7]7 “One respect, five overall plans” (一个尊重、五个统筹) was a principle from the 2015 Central Urban Work Conference: respecting urban development laws, and overall planning for space, scale, and industry; planning, construction, and management; reform, science and technology, and culture; production, living, and ecology; and government, society, and citizens. proposed by General Secretary Xi Jinping at the 2015 Central Urban Work Conference. They clarify the values and methodology of urban development, deepen the understanding of the laws of urban development under socialism with Chinese characteristics, achieve major breakthroughs in the theory and practice of urban work, enrich and develop Marxist urban theory, and provide a scientific guide for connotative urban development in the New Era. Viewed separately, each “transformation” and “greater emphasis” has rich implications.

总体来看，“五个转变、五个更加”是深刻总结世界城市发展经验教训，把握城市未来发展趋势，从我国社会主义初级阶段基本国情出发，立足于新时代新征程我国城市工作面临的新形势，在综合分析我国生产力发展阶段、历史文化特点等基础上凝练出的具有指导性、前瞻性的治理框架。“五个转变、五个更加”涉及城市工作理念、方式、动力、重心、方法等方面的转变，是一种系统性变革，与习近平总书记在2015年中央城市工作会议提出的“一个尊重、五个统筹”既一以贯之又与时俱进，明确了城市发展的价值观和方法论，深化了对中国特色社会主义城市发展的规律性认识，实现了城市工作理论和实践上的重大突破，是对马克思主义城市理论的丰富和发展，为新时代城市内涵式发展提供了科学指南。分别来看，每一个“转变”和“更加”，都有着丰富含义。

Transforming the concept of urban development to place greater emphasis on a people-centered approach is the inherent requirement for building a modern people’s city. Concepts guide action; the concept of urban development determines the effectiveness of urban development. The essence of modernization is the modernization of people, and a modern people’s city should place greater emphasis on a people-centered approach. In the past period, some localities’ urban work had a tendency to “value things over people.” For example, some cities grew larger and more beautiful, but residents faced difficulties in schooling, medical treatment, and elderly care, making life inconvenient for the masses. It should be recognized that in a city as an organic living entity, people are the protagonists and the core; the key lies in the twelve characters of clothing, food, housing, transportation, birth, aging, illness, death, peaceful living, and joyful work. [8]8 The “twelve characters” (12个字) is a shorthand for the basic aspects of people’s livelihood: clothing (衣), food (食), housing (住), transportation (行), birth (生), aging (老), illness (病), death (死), peaceful living (安居), and joyful work (乐业). The starting point and落脚点 [9]9 “落脚点” (luòjiǎo diǎn) literally means “foothold” or “point of landing”; in political discourse it is a standard term for the ultimate goal or final purpose of work. of urban work should both be people. To deeply grasp the strategic orientation of connotative urban development, it is necessary to transform the concept of urban development, not to “see things but not people,” but to place greater emphasis on a people-centered approach. This means that urban public investment should shift from material forms to focusing on service forms and welfare forms, placing greater emphasis on “investing in people.” We must always revolve around the people’s aspiration for a better life, integrate the concept of making people’s lives more comfortable into the entire process of urban planning, construction, development, and governance, embody it in every detail, optimize public services, improve the living environment, and ensure people’s well-being and welfare, striving to build cities into beautiful homes where people live in harmony with each other and with nature.

转变城市发展理念，更加注重以人为本，是建设现代化人民城市的内在要求。理念是行动的先导，城市发展理念决定着城市发展成效。现代化的本质是人的现代化，现代化人民城市应当更加注重以人为本。过去一段时间，有的地方城市工作存在“重物轻人”倾向，比如一些城市越建越大、越建越漂亮，但居民上学、看病、养老难，群众生活不方便。应当看到，城市作为一个有机生命体，人是主角、是核心，关键就是衣食住行、生老病死、安居乐业12个字，城市工作的出发点和落脚点都应该是人。深刻把握城市内涵式发展的战略取向，就要转变城市发展理念，不能“见物不见人”，而要更加注重以人为本。这意味着城市公共投资要从物质形态转向聚焦服务形态和福利形态，更加注重“投资于人”。要始终围绕人民对美好生活的向往，把让群众生活更舒适这一理念融入城市规划、建设、发展、治理全过程，体现在每一个细节中，优化公共服务、改善人居环境、保障民生福祉，努力把城市建设成为人与人、人与自然和谐共处的美丽家园。

Transforming the urban development model to place greater emphasis on intensive and efficient development is the key to improving the quality and level of urban development. The development model determines the quality of urban development. During the stage of high-speed economic growth, China’s cities expanded in scale and increased in geographical area, but this also brought problems such as damage to urban cultural heritage and features, and insufficient urban safety and resilience. It should be recognized that cities are the most concentrated places for various factor resources and economic and social activities. Urban development cannot only consider expanding scale and economic benefits; it must coordinate the production needs, living needs, ecological needs, and safety needs of urban development. For example, if a city’s industries are excessively concentrated and its functions are over-extended, the population will become overly concentrated. Once the population and economic scale exceed the local water resource carrying capacity, groundwater must be over-extracted, leading to an imbalance between ecological space and construction space, and inevitably reducing the environmental capacity. To deeply grasp the strategic orientation of connotative urban development, it is necessary to promote the transformation of the urban development model from incremental expansion to improving the quality and efficiency of existing stock, placing greater emphasis on intensive and efficient development, and obtaining greater economic and social benefits with fewer resource inputs. By optimizing the urban functional structure and spatial layout, improving the level of intensive and economical use of resources and space, and promoting industrial transformation and upgrading, we must forge a development path that is resource-saving, low-carbon, environmentally friendly, and quality-oriented.

转变城市发展方式，更加注重集约高效，是提高城市发展质量和水平的关键所在。发展方式决定城市的发展质量。在经济高速增长阶段，我国城市规模扩大、地域面积增加，同时也产生了城市文脉和风貌受到破坏，城市安全韧性保障不足等问题。应当看到，城市是各类要素资源和经济社会活动最集中的地方，城市发展不能只考虑做大规模和经济效益，必须统筹城市发展的生产需要、生活需要、生态需要和安全需要。比如，一个城市如果产业过度集中、功能过分拓展，人口就会过度集聚。一旦人口和经济规模超出当地水资源承载力，就不得不超采地下水，导致生态空间和建设空间比例失调，环境容量就不可避免变少。深刻把握城市内涵式发展的战略取向，就要推动城市发展方式从增量扩张向存量提质增效转变，更加注重集约高效，以更少的资源投入获得更大的经济社会效益。要通过优化城市功能结构和空间布局、提升资源和空间集约节约利用水平、推动产业转型升级等，走出一条资源节约、低碳环保、质量优先的发展路径。

Transforming the driving force of urban development and placing greater emphasis on distinctive development is an inevitable step in enhancing a city’s core competitiveness. The driving force of urban development reflects a city’s capacity for sustainable development. Conditions vary greatly across China, and cities differ in resource endowments, geographical environments, and levels of development. Yet in recent years, some localities have seen urban construction lacking in distinctiveness and monotonous in style, giving rise to phenomena such as “a thousand cities with one face” and industrial homogenization. If all cities crowd onto just a few tracks, not only will they find it difficult to leverage their respective strengths, but resource waste will also result. It should be recognized that every city has its own distinctive features and character, which are the long-term accumulation of its natural geographical environment, economic and social factors, and the production and lifestyle of its residents. Only by identifying one’s position in the overall national development landscape, “using the wind to fan the fire and splitting wood along the grain,”[10]10 A Chinese idiom meaning to act according to the natural conditions and circumstances, avoiding unnecessary force. and forming a differentiated development pattern of “what others lack, I have; what others have, I excel at; what others excel at, I make distinctive,” can the dynamism and vitality of urban development be enhanced. To deeply grasp the strategic orientation of connotative urban development, it is necessary to promote a shift in the driving force of urban development from reliance on traditional factor-driven approaches in the past to reliance on distinctive advantages, placing greater emphasis on distinctive development. By basing themselves on their own resource endowments and comparative advantages, actively integrating into the construction of a new development pattern, and fully leveraging the role of cities as hubs in the domestic and international dual circulations, localities can, by adapting measures to local conditions, implementing city-specific policies, and giving full play to their respective strengths, enhance their cities’ core competitiveness and foster a situation among cities of “each displaying its own beauty, and beauty shared by all.”[11]11 A phrase derived from the sociologist Fei Xiaotong, advocating for the appreciation of one’s own beauty, appreciation of others’ beauty, and the sharing of beauty among all.

转变城市发展动力，更加注重特色发展，是提升城市核心竞争力的必然之举。城市发展动力体现城市可持续发展能力。我国各地情况千差万别，城市之间资源禀赋、地理环境、发展水平等各不相同，但近年来一些地方的城市建设缺乏特色、风格单调，出现“千城一面”、产业同质化等现象。如果都集中在几条赛道上，各地不仅难以施展所长，还会带来资源浪费。应当看到，每个城市都有自己的特色风貌，这是其自然地理环境、经济社会因素、居民生产生活方式等长期积淀形成的。找准在全国发展大局中的定位，做到“因风吹火，照纹劈柴”，形成“人无我有、人有我优、人优我特”的错位发展，才能增强城市发展的动力活力。深刻把握城市内涵式发展的战略取向，就要推动城市发展动力从过去依赖传统要素驱动向依靠特色优势驱动转变，更加注重特色发展。各地立足自身资源禀赋和比较优势，积极融入构建新发展格局，充分发挥城市在国内国际双循环中的枢纽作用，因地制宜、因城施策、各展所长，能够提升城市核心竞争力，并形成城市之间“各美其美、美美与共”的局面。

Transforming the focus of urban work and placing greater emphasis on governance investment is an important foundation for promoting high-standard renewal, high-level operation, and high-efficiency governance of cities. In the past period, some cities placed relatively greater emphasis on economic targets in their development, while lacking long-term planning and governance operations, exhibiting a tendency to prioritize construction over governance. For example, some cities focused on large squares, wide roads, and clusters of high-rise buildings, resulting in “half-finished” projects; some towns and cities engaged in large-scale demolition and construction, leading to the gradual disappearance of urban cultural characteristics, which is detrimental to improving the urban living environment. It should be recognized that a city is an organic unity of production space, living space, and ecological space. Adhering to principles such as respecting nature, inheriting history, and pursuing green and low-carbon development, and strengthening refined governance, can enhance the sustainability and livability of urban development. To deeply grasp the strategic orientation of connotative urban development, it is necessary to transform the focus of urban work, shifting from placing more emphasis on early-stage construction to placing greater emphasis on governance investment. Only by paying more attention to the building of governance capacity, relying on technological innovation, institutional innovation, and refined governance to improve urban operational efficiency and resilience, can the modernization of urban governance be truly achieved, and a fundamental transformation from the physical spatial expansion of urban development to the optimization of social functions be realized. This is also a test of the outlook on political performance of urban builders and governors.

转变城市工作重心，更加注重治理投入，是推动城市高标准更新、高水平运营、高效能治理的重要基础。过去一段时间，有的城市发展比较重视经济目标，而缺乏长效规划和治理运营，存在重建设、轻治理的倾向。比如，一些城市聚焦大广场、宽马路、高楼群等，产生了“半拉子”工程；一些城镇大拆大建，导致城镇文化特色逐渐消失，不利于改善城市人居环境。应当看到，城市是生产空间、生活空间、生态空间的有机统一。坚持尊重自然、传承历史、绿色低碳等，加强精细化治理，能够提高城市发展的可持续性、宜居性。深刻把握城市内涵式发展的战略取向，就要转变城市工作重心，从更多重视前期建设转向更加重视治理投入。只有更加注重治理能力建设，依靠科技创新、制度创新、精细化治理提升城市运行效率和韧性，才能真正实现城市治理现代化，实现城市发展从物理空间扩张向社会功能优化的根本转型。这也是对城市建设者和治理者的政绩观的检验。

Transforming urban working methods and placing greater emphasis on overall planning and coordination is a powerful guarantee for improving the urban work framework and better forming a combined force. Multiple elements of a city—economy, population, industry, space, ecology, culture, and others—are highly coupled, forming an organic and unified whole. This determines that urban work must establish systematic thinking, conduct in-depth research and meticulous deployment on major issues related to urban development, and systematically advance work in all aspects. In the past, some urban management was characterized by “nine dragons governing the water,”[12]12 A Chinese idiom referring to fragmented authority and lack of coordination among multiple government departments, leading to inefficiency and chaos. leading to various chaotic phenomena such as jurisdictional fragmentation, local protectionism, and market segmentation. To effectively address this situation, it is necessary to transform urban working methods, break the mindset of “one acre and three-tenths of an acre of land,”[13]13 A Chinese idiom referring to a narrow, self-interested mindset focused on one’s own small domain. and shift from work that previously highlighted individual departments and individual fields to collaborative cooperation across multiple departments and multiple fields. To deeply grasp the strategic orientation of connotative urban development, it is necessary to transform urban working methods, place greater emphasis on overall planning and coordination, be adept at mobilizing the initiative, creativity, and enthusiasm of all parties, and gather a combined force to promote high-quality urban development. It is essential to strengthen systematic thinking, and through methods such as integrating multiple plans into one, cross-departmental joint meetings, and “one-stop online processing,” enable the visible hand of the government, the invisible hand of the market, and the diligent hands of citizens to work in the same direction, breaking down fragmented departmental jurisdictions and administrative barriers, and achieving comprehensive and coordinated development of urban space, economy, society, and ecology.

转变城市工作方法，更加注重统筹协调，是健全城市工作格局、更好形成合力的有力保障。城市经济、人口、产业、空间、生态、文化等多种要素高度耦合，形成有机统一的整体。这决定了城市工作要树立系统思维，对事关城市发展的重大问题进行深入研究和周密部署，系统推进各方面工作。过去一些城市管理是“九龙治水”，造成一些乱象，如画地为牢、地方保护主义、市场分割等。有效应对这一情况，要转变城市工作方法，打破“一亩三分地”思维，从过去突出单部门、单领域的工作向多部门、多领域协同合作转变。深刻把握城市内涵式发展的战略取向，就要转变城市工作方法，更加注重统筹协调，善于调动各方面的积极性、主动性、创造性，集聚推动城市高质量发展的合力。要强化系统观念，通过多规合一、跨部门联席会议、“一网通办”等方式，使政府有形之手、市场无形之手、市民勤劳之手同向发力，打破条块分割和行政壁垒，实现城市空间、经济、社会、生态的全面协调发展。

Firmly grasp the key tasks and unswervingly promote high-quality urban development

牢牢把握重点任务，坚定不移推动城市高质量发展

This Central Urban Work Conference[14]14 The Central Urban Work Conference, held by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, sets the guiding principles for urban development in China. deployed the key tasks for urban work under the framework of “one optimization and six constructions.”[15]15 “One optimization and six constructions” refers to optimizing the modern urban system and constructing livable, innovative, smart, green, humanistic, and resilient cities. The Opinions[16]16 The Opinions refer to the official policy document issued following the Central Urban Work Conference, detailing specific measures for urban development. make specific arrangements for promoting high-quality urban development in areas such as optimizing the modern urban system and cultivating and strengthening new drivers of urban development. These strategic deployments, which deeply grasp the strategic orientation of connotative urban development, are systematic plans formulated based on the overall situation of the Party and the nation’s undertakings. They not only aim to solve current prominent problems but also systematically plan for long-term development. They are countermeasures for deeply grasping and proactively adapting to changes in the urban development situation, clearly outlining a “construction blueprint” for promoting high-quality urban development. We must integrate these requirements and deployments and implement them fully and without fail.

这次中央城市工作会议部署了“一个优化、六个建设”城市工作重点任务。《意见》从优化现代化城市体系、培育壮大城市发展新动能等方面对推动城市高质量发展作出具体部署。这些战略部署，是深刻把握城市内涵式发展的战略取向，立足党和国家事业发展全局作出的系统谋划，既着眼解决当下突出问题，又系统谋划长远发展，是深刻把握、主动适应城市发展形势变化的应对之策，清晰勾勒出推动城市高质量发展的“施工图”。我们要把这些要求和部署贯通起来，不折不扣抓好落实。

Optimize a multi-center, networked modern urban system. A modern urban system should promote the coordinated development of large, medium, and small cities as well as small towns, so that different types of cities all have carrying capacity, and different groups of people can find suitable spaces for work and life. To this end, it is necessary to focus on enhancing the comprehensive carrying capacity of cities for population and economic and social development, accelerate the cultivation and expansion of city clusters and metropolitan areas, promote the interconnection and interoperability of rail transit, metropolitan expressways, and highway networks, and build an urban network with clear nodes, distinct levels, and mutual support. Advance urbanization construction with county towns as important carriers in a categorized manner, guide the extension of supporting industries, public services, and living facilities to county areas based on distinctive resources and industrial chain development, promote the dual improvement of the quality of county urbanization and population absorption capacity, and achieve the coordinated development of large, medium, and small cities and small towns.

优化多中心、网络化的现代化城市体系。现代化城市体系应当促进大中小城市和小城镇协调发展，使不同类型城市都有承载力，不同人群都能找到适宜的工作生活空间。为此，要着眼于提高城市对人口和经济社会发展的综合承载能力，加快培育壮大城市群和都市圈，推动轨道交通、市域快线和高速公路网互联互通，构建节点清晰、层级分明、互为支撑的城市网络。分类推进以县城为重要载体的城镇化建设，围绕特色资源和产业链发展，引导配套产业、公共服务、生活设施向县域延伸，促进县城城镇化质量与人口吸纳能力双提升，实现大中小城市和小城镇协调发展。

Develop new quality productive forces according to local conditions and accelerate the construction of innovative cities. Innovation is the “key variable” and “maximum increment” for determining the future. As centers of economic development, cities are the main battlefields for technological innovation and industrial development. It is essential to seize the opportunity of the in-depth development of the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, base oneself on one’s own resource endowments and industrial foundation, and build a modern industrial system. Improve the full-chain industrial innovation system, and promote the deep coupling of the innovation chain, industrial chain, capital chain, and talent chain. Improve innovation policies, strengthen factor guarantees, and build high-level innovation platforms and open incubation networks. Create a fair, transparent, high-quality, and efficient business environment, fully stimulate the vitality of various innovation entities, continuously enhance the endogenous driving force and radiation-driven capacity of urban innovation development, and fully leverage the role of cities as hubs in the domestic and international dual circulations.

因地制宜发展新质生产力，加快创新城市建设。创新是决胜未来的“关键变量”“最大增量”。作为经济发展的中心，城市是科技创新、产业发展的主阵地。要紧抓新一轮科技革命和产业变革深入发展的机遇，立足自身资源禀赋和产业基础，建设现代化产业体系。健全全链条产业创新体系，推动创新链产业链资金链人才链深度耦合。完善创新政策、加强要素保障，建设高水平创新平台和开放式孵化网络。打造公平透明、优质高效的营商环境，充分激发各类创新主体活力，持续增强城市创新发展的内生动力与辐射带动能力，充分发挥城市在国内国际双循环中的枢纽作用。

Deeply practice the people’s city concept and promote the construction of livable cities. Cities belong to the people. It is necessary to coordinate and optimize public service resources such as education, healthcare, elderly care, culture, and transportation, and effectively enhance the coverage and accessibility of basic public services. Adhere to the integrated planning of population, industry, towns, and transportation, optimize the urban spatial structure, and promote the balance between work and residence and the integration of industry and city. Orderly advance urban renewal actions, focus on key areas such as old residential communities and shantytowns, and coordinate the promotion of infrastructure upgrading, public space renovation, and historical landscape protection. Adhere to the positioning of “housing is for living, not for speculation,” accelerate the construction of a new model for real estate development, promote the transformation of cities from “having a place to live” to “living in a quality home,” and truly make cities a beautiful home where the general public can live and work in peace and contentment and enjoy a happy life.

深入践行人民城市理念，推进宜居城市建设。城市是人民的城市。要统筹优化教育、医疗、养老、文化、交通等公共服务资源，切实提升基本公共服务的覆盖面与可及性。坚持人口、产业、城镇、交通一体规划，优化城市空间结构，促进职住平衡与产城融合。有序推进城市更新行动，聚焦老旧小区、棚户区等重点区域，统筹推进基础设施提升、公共空间改造与历史风貌保护。坚持“房住不炒”定位，加快构建房地产发展新模式，推动城市从“住有所居”向“住有优居”转变，让城市真正成为广大市民安居乐业、幸福生活的美好家园。

Adhere to the harmonious coexistence of humans and nature and promote the construction of beautiful cities. Firmly establish and practice the concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, adhere to precision pollution control, scientific pollution control, and law-based pollution control, and consolidate the achievements of ecological environment governance. Strictly implement the red lines for territorial spatial planning control, and strictly adhere to urban development boundaries. Accelerate the green and low-carbon transformation of traditional industries such as steel, chemicals, and building materials, deepen the promotion of energy conservation and emission reduction in key areas such as electricity and construction, improve the support system for green finance, carbon markets, and technological innovation, take the “dual carbon” goals[17]17 The “dual carbon” goals refer to China’s commitments to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. as the guide, accelerate the construction of a clean, low-carbon, safe, and efficient energy system, and promote cities to enter a new model of sustainable development characterized by resource conservation, environmental friendliness, and circular regeneration. Guide citizens to cultivate lifestyles such as green travel, waste sorting, and low-carbon consumption, forming a social consensus on green development.

坚持人与自然和谐共生，推进美丽城市建设。牢固树立践行绿水青山就是金山银山理念，坚持精准治污、科学治污、依法治污，巩固生态环境治理成效。严格落实国土空间规划管控红线，严守城镇开发边界。加快钢铁、化工、建材等传统产业绿色低碳改造，深化推动电力、建筑等重点领域节能减排，健全绿色金融、碳市场和技术创新支撑体系，以“双碳”目标为牵引，加快构建清洁低碳、安全高效的能源体系，推动城市迈入资源节约、环境友好、循环再生的可持续发展新模式。引导市民养成绿色出行、垃圾分类、低碳消费的生活方式，形成全社会绿色发展共识。

Coordinate development and security, and advance the building of resilient cities. Safety and reliability are the prominent features of resilient cities. We must coordinate the upgrading and renovation of old urban infrastructure with the construction of new infrastructure, using means such as smart pipe networks, green buildings, and intelligent transportation to make urban operations safer, more orderly, smarter, and more efficient. Improve the building lifecycle management mechanism covering planning, design, construction, use, maintenance, and demolition, and strictly implement the housing safety assessment and hazard investigation system. Improve the urban natural disaster prevention and control system, and strengthen the monitoring, early warning, and emergency response capabilities for risks such as geological disasters, floods, typhoons, and earthquakes. Concentrate efforts on carrying out special rectification of risks and hazards in key areas such as gas, fire protection, underground spaces, and hazardous chemicals, and improve the urban public safety system and the social security prevention and control system, so that the broad masses of the people can live more safely, securely, and comfortably in the city.

统筹发展与安全，推进韧性城市建设。安全可靠是韧性城市的突出特征。要统筹推进城市老旧基础设施改造升级与新型基础设施建设，通过智慧管网、绿色建筑、智能交通等手段，让城市运行更安全、更有序、更智慧、更高效。健全覆盖规划、设计、建设、使用、维护、拆除等环节的建筑全生命周期管理机制，严格落实房屋安全评估和隐患排查制度。完善城市自然灾害防治体系，强化地质灾害、洪涝、台风、地震等风险的监测预警和应急响应能力。集中力量开展燃气、消防、地下空间、危化品等重点领域的风险隐患专项整治，健全城市公共安全体系和社会治安防控体系，让广大人民群众在城市生活得更加安心、放心和舒心。

Promote the core socialist values and advance the building of civilized cities. Improve the historical and cultural protection and inheritance system, improve the urban landscape management system, systematically protect important spatial carriers such as historical districts, cultural sites, and traditional landscape areas that embody the city's historical heritage and regional characteristics, and encourage the integration of cultural elements such as calligraphy, opera, crafts, and etiquette into urban spaces, community life, and artistic expression. Enrich the public cultural service supply system, optimize the allocation of cultural resources, and promote the opening of cultural facilities such as libraries, art galleries, and intangible cultural heritage exhibition venues to citizens. Systematically advance the construction of civic morality and guidance for public civility, and enhance citizens' cultural-ethical standards and the level of social civility. Through the coordinated advancement of cultural protection, service supply, and spiritual cultivation, comprehensively create a modern civilized city image with profound cultural heritage, distinct Chinese characteristics, and the features of the times.

弘扬社会主义核心价值观，推进文明城市建设。完善历史文化保护传承体系，完善城市风貌管理制度，系统保护体现城市历史传承和地域特色的历史街区、文化遗址、传统风貌区等重要空间载体，鼓励将书法、戏曲、工艺、礼仪等文化元素融入城市空间、社区生活与艺术表达。丰富公共文化服务供给体系，优化文化资源配置，推动图书馆、美术馆、非遗展示场所等文化设施向市民开放。系统推进市民道德建设、公共文明引导，提升公民文明素养和社会文明程度。通过文化保护、服务供给、精神培育的协同推进，全面打造具有深厚文化底蕴、鲜明中国特色和时代风貌的现代化文明城市形象。

Use digital technology to empower urban governance and advance the building of smart cities. Relying on new technologies such as big data, cloud computing, blockchain, and artificial intelligence, coordinate the advancement of the construction of the "city brain" [18]18 "City brain" (城市大脑) refers to a comprehensive urban management platform that uses big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence to integrate and analyze city-wide data for real-time monitoring, decision-making, and resource allocation., promote the digital and intelligent transformation of urban operations and governance methods, and enhance the precision and synergy of urban governance. Accelerate the realization of digitalization, process optimization, and integration of government services, and enhance the convenience and accessibility of urban public service supply. Encourage the construction of intelligent transportation networks to achieve efficient coordination of traffic monitoring, command and dispatch, and emergency response, and accelerate the formation of a modern smart city development pattern.

利用数字技术赋能城市治理，推进智慧城市建设。依托大数据、云计算、区块链、人工智能等新技术，统筹推进“城市大脑”建设，推动城市运行和治理方式数字化、智能化转型，提升城市治理的精准性和协同性。加快实现政务服务数字化、流程化和集成化，提升城市公共服务供给的便捷性与可及性。鼓励建设智能出行网络，实现交通监控、指挥调度与应急响应的高效协同，加快形成现代化智慧城市发展格局。

(Written by: Research Group of the National Academy of Economic Strategy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

（执笔：中国社会科学院财经战略研究院课题组）

Online Editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心