SMART CITIES IN CHINA: GROWTH DRIVER IN THE POST-COVID-19 WORLD

In many parts of the world, cities have been at the forefront of shaping a post-COVID world by taking inclusive measures and investing to pair economic recovery with environmental sustainability. The crucial role of digitalization has pushed many cities to systematize the use of smart city tools more permanently. The rapid introduction of digital technologies in urban management has become increasingly noticeable in China. The study aims to analyze and identify trends in the development of Chinese smart cities and assess the balance between the technological and human aspects. This paper presents an empirical study carried out to assess and analyze the development pattern of cities in China. The authors focused on cluster development and highlighted the geographical pattern of smart cities distribution in China and their strengths and weaknesses in each area. The authors were able to identify that the Chinese smart cities have their own characteristic features, promising enormous benefits for citizens and growing revenues, but not equally distributed. There is certain unbalanced development that is deficient in the initial inventory of smart infrastructure and social demands. The results indicate that technology aspects prevail over the existing infrastructure that poses challenges to Chinese smart cities' sustainable development.