(Yicai) March 15 -- At the end of last year, 54 Chinese cities had more than CNY1 trillion (USD139 billion) deposited with financial institutions, an indicator of their financial strength, according to local government figures.

The two leading cities, Beijing and Shanghai, each topped the CNY20 trillion (USD2.8 trillion) mark, far outpacing the others.

The 54 cities -- four municipalities directly governed by the central government, 22 provincial capitals, and 28 other cities -- account for just 7.8 percent of all China’s cities but 64 percent, or CNY184.39 trillion (USD25.6 trillion), of their total deposits.

Shenzhen was the only other city with a deposit balance in excess of CNY10 trillion (USD1.39 trillion), followed by Chengdu, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, and Suzhou, with between CNY5 trillion (USD695 billion) and CNY10 trillion each.

Another six belong to a group with deposits ranging from CNY3 trillion to CNY5 trillion, while the remaining 39 municipalities have less than CNY3 trillion.

China’s eastern regions contributed 36 cities to the list, reflecting the economic strength of the coastal areas, which is far ahead of other areas, while six cities from central China, eight from the west, and four from the northeast make up the rest.

Nowhere in Hainan province made the grade. Other provincial-level regions also failed to contribute. They include Qinghai, the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the Xizang Autonomous Region, and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Shenzhen is gaining traction as the southeastern city overtook neighboring Guangzhou at No. 4 , while fifth-placed Hangzhou has been closing the gap with Guangzhou in recent years partly due to the rapid growth of the digital economy in both cities, an economy expert told Yicai. 

Shenzhen and Hangzhou incubate many tech startups that draw a lot of venture capital into these cities, which is one of the important reasons for the growing financial strength of both cities, the expert said.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine