Market share of intelligent city in China 2021, by segment

The smart city projects in China mark a milestone in the country’s economic and technological development over the past few decades. Nearly 29 percent of China’s smart city market shares were held by the smart logistics segment in 2021.

 Establishment of smart cities worldwide

Among the many smart cities located across Europe, the city of Zurich in Switzerland was ranked first as per the global smart city index in 2019. China, too, has several smart cities in the pipeline with 900 pilot projects being worked on as of 2020. Its neighbour, India, also has plans in place to enhance multiple cities across several states to the give them the status of a smart city.

 China’s investment in smart city projects 

 In 2017, China’s investment in smart city projects amounted to 327 billion yuan. By 2020, China accounted for nearly 22 percent of the world’s contribution in such initiatives. However, China’s enthusiasm is met with a certain ambiguity on behalf of its citizens, some of whom express concerns over data privacy and protection for fear of smart devices being hacked. Moreover, it was found in 2019 that 46 percent of China’s population remained unaware of the country’s data protection laws.