The top 5 affluent cities in China

When Westerners picture China's richest areas, they tend to think of the larger cities: Beijing, Shanghai or Shenzhen. These metropolises are certainly where the bulk of the nation's consumers live. But, while it is true that these cities are home to China's rising middle classes, as well and the largest concentration of its super rich, there are many other factors which demonstrate the extent of Chinese affluence.

When the China County Economic Research Bureau released a relative affluence map in 2010, what surprised observers the most was the fact that many of the names on the list were completely unknown to most foreigners, with neither Beijing nor Shanghai featuring in the top 5.

1. Kelamayi, Xinjiang Named after the Uyghur language word meaning ‘black oil', this city of 450,000 people lies close to large pockets of oil and natural gas reserves, including one of the largest oil reserves ever discovered in China, in 1955. Since then the city has blossomed into a key oil-producing and refining centre. In 2008 the GDP of Kelamayi reached ¥66.1 billion. The city also produces natural stones, like Jade.

2. Dongguan, Guangdong A teeming industrial city at the heart of a region of 25 million inhabitants, Dongguan lies on the Pearl River Delta. It is home to the world's largest shopping mall, New South China Mail. Within Dongguan itself there are approximately 6.94 million people. The city is a manufacturing hub and is also widely-renowned for its sex industry.

3. Suzhou, Jiangsu Suzhou is located in the south-east of Jiangsu province, in eastern China, on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Founded in the 6th century, the city boasts over 2,500 years of diverse history, with relics of the past remaining in abundance. There are numerous canals, stone bridges and pagodas, as well as beautifully landscaped gardens. This has all contributed to making the city both an important economic hub and one of China's key tourist destinations.

4. Foshan, Guangdong Foshan is a city of around 3.6 million inhabitants in the Guangdong province of southern China. The city comprises migrants drawn to the area from outlying Chinese provinces, speaking mostly Mandarin, and natives who speak a Foshan variant of Cantonese. Foshan was once a hub for the porcelain industry; it is now home to many large private enterprises. Its main claim to fame is its predilection for the martial arts.

5. Wuxi, Jiangsu Wuxi is a venerable ancient city in Jiangsu province on China's east coast. The city itself is split into two portions by Lake Tai, the northern half looking across the Yangtze River, while the southern half faces Zhejiang. Wuxi has a long history of commercial involvement, particularly trading with modern Shanghai. A regional transportation hub, Wuxi is also famous for its fertile farmlands, and is one of the 15 great economic hubs of China.

The strength of Chinese currency

While the Chinese Yuan was expected to depreciate after a period of uncertainty towards the end of 2012, there is every sign that the currency is stabilising, putting investment back on the mind of speculators the world over. In fact, the Yuan recently hit its highest levels since the start of its revaluation process in 2005, reversing last year's downwards trend.

Graphs indicating the performance of the currency in terms of its market price, related to the daily fixing rate by the People's Bank of China, demonstrated the verve with which the Chinese Yuan is performing compared to the ubiquitous US dollar.

One significant aspect of the resurgence of the Yuan is the fact the weakening trend of the currency against the dollar, as determined by the People's Bank's own fixing, had remained unchanged. The effect of this had been to open a large gap between the market and the People's Bank fixing. Current figures demonstrate that this has been totally reversed.

Western economies have viewed much of the People's Bank's monetary activities with trepidation, particularly when it has appeared that the Chinese financiers appear to eschew conventional tools, such as the manipulation of interest rates and reserve requirement ratio. Yet the People's Bank have been willing to allow the Yuan to drift far higher – while all the time wishing the trend would be steered in the other direction. This type of financial speculation has been the key to the People's Bank's robust position in the first place. The bank expanded rapidly because its balance sheet was allowed to swell as money was created, preventing the Yuan from appreciating any quicker than it did. This process was halted due to the fiscal phenomenon of persistence money overflow.

The strength of the Yuan may well indicate that the money flow has reversed, with the trend coinciding with the worldwide risk-on sentiment. Concerns about the effect of quantitate easing on the dollar have undoubtedly helped drive the international markets' current appreciation of Chinese Yuan.

China's admittance to the prestigious World Trade Organisation is a milestone in terms of the growth of its economy. In many ways, this is the culmination of the so-called ‘open door policy' launched by the reformist leader of the Chinese Communist Party, the late Deng Xiaoping, back in 1978. After many years in economic isolation in the global sense, China had begun a remorseless journey towards the situation it now finds itself in: at the forefront of the world's trading superpowers.

What this newfound status has meant is that the stage is now set for China to produce an ever-expanding list of entrepreneurs; a band of vibrant, high-achieving Chinese individuals, fuelled with the drive to make the most of the vast economic potential of this nation. In fact, over the previous two decades millions of such entrepreneurs have emerged in China.

One of the most decisive factors behind this phenomenon has been the fact that the 300,000 state-owned enterprises were simply unable to compete with the explosion in private commercial ventures once China was outside the official trading system. Many of the state-owned industries will either fall by the wayside, or be absorbed into the much healthier private trading companies.

While the Communist Party's position has never been in any doubt, it will greatly benefit from the successful integration of China into the global business community. A key to this continuing economic success is the rise of the Chinese entrepreneurs. The Party has developed a pragmatic philosophy in the face of the rampant free market forces which have been gathering apace in this part of the world for some time now. If a handful of individuals can be unleashed to accumulate considerable wealth, then their trailblazing activities will be a beacon of inspiration that will lead the way for economic development throughout the rest of the nation.

The difference between the Chinese outlook and those of their counterparts in the United States of America, Western Europe, Russia and the capitalist countries of Asia is the fact that business leaders prefer to maintain a much lower profile, shunning the publicity that might see an American entrepreneur appearing on the cover of Time magazine or being interviewed on prime-time chat shows. One senior Chinese government official stated that the Chinese should always view entrepreneur success stories as part of the overall process, not just in terms of their personal charisma.

Overseen by the Ministry of Health, China's population of 1,354,000,000 enjoy a vigorous public health policy, based on preventative medicine, hygiene and good nutritional awareness. Historically, although free public health has waned since the days of the people's communes, the rise in private healthcare has led to considerable improvements in the quality of China's health services. Since the late 1940s, the national life expectancy has risen every year, currently standing at 74.8 years, while the infant mortality rate has decreased sharply over the same period.

The combination of market-driven policies and state control has led to an ever improving health status for the overall Chinese population. While there is no room for complacency, with sections of society still requiring particular attention, the signs are that 2013 will show continual improvements and innovations in healthcare. Four years ago there was a radical health care reform which, coupled with the twelfth Five Year Plan, really pushed for the modernisation of the Chinese health structure in three particular areas:-

• to reform the hospital system, • to provide universal basic insurance coverage, and • to ensure the promotion of essential medicine treatment.

Part of this comprehensive health drive is to provide the Chinese people with universal healthcare by 2020. This ambitious target has led to the vast mobilisation and upgrading of the entire pharmaceutical industry, as well as providing immense opportunities for both domestic and foreign companies to embrace this challenge. The government are also determined to transform the industry from a focus on generic drugs to becoming dedicated to radical innovation, with the emphasis on becoming amongst the world's leading champions of pharmaceutical solutions.

This will have a knock-on effect, as the concerted strive to remain at the forefront of drugs technology will lead to strong pharmaceutical supply lines, and the increasing funding of bold medical research. During this time Chinese medicine will also be making strenuous efforts to attain quality levels that are compatible with global standards.

These growth opportunities will continue to attract multinationals who will see the increasing benefits for extending their footprint in China. This situation is set to continue into the immediate future and on into the next few decades. China has the potential to become one of the leaders of pharmaceutical research in the world.