CHINA SYSTEM · OPERATING LOGIC
Read the concept through its operating structure
Municipalities are province-level jurisdictions
Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Chongqing are province-level municipalities, but districts, counties and development zones within them still hold different powers.
Sub-provincial and separately planned status affects economic authority
Sub-provincial and separately planned cities overlap but are not synonyms. Separate planning affects national economic management; the central-province-city allocation still depends on the matter.
National central city is a planning function
National central city is a planning role in the urban and regional system, not necessarily an administrative promotion, and differs from national new areas, free-trade zones and city-cluster cores.
First-tier labels are market-analysis tools
First-tier and new first-tier lists are commercial rankings based on business resources, people, transport and potential. They help market analysis but create no approval, tax or administrative authority.
Read cities as functional portfolios, not one score
Korean firms should score customers, supply chains, R&D, manufacturing and logistics, regulation and data, finance, local fiscal capacity and Korea links separately—not rely on a tier label.