Evaluation of Spatial Balance of China’s Regional Development

Abstract

China’s substantial economic growth and rapid urbanization has brought about some negative effects, one of which is spatial imbalance. Spatial imbalance has attracted considerable attention from both the government and researchers, since it has severely hindered regional sustainable development. This study, from the perspective of the matching relationship between spatial supply capacity and development demand intensity, evaluates the spatial balance of 290 prefecture-level cities in China by establishing an index system that considers the economy, society, resources, and the environment. The findings of this study have demonstrated that the strategies and measures of China in the last few years have brought about a spatial imbalance in regional development while rapidly boosting economic growth. The results reveal that there is not a corresponding relationship between spatial supply capacity and development demand intensity in China’s regional development, indicating that most cities in China are in an imbalanced state regarding regional development. Only a few cities have reached spatial balance, while overexploitation is a common phenomenon. This study displays an overall perspective on the state of spatial balance in China, providing a sound basis for implementing pertinent governance measures in different regions.