Population outflow from first-tier cities and population inflow into second-tier cities is a positive indicator of balanced and integrated regional development, but the first-tier cities should also be aware of the increasing aging population problem and the need to attract talent. China Daily writer Wang Yiqing comments:

First-tier cities, which have traditionally attracted youths thanks to their abundant resources and opportunities, have in recent years shown a reverse trend, from rapid population growth to outflow of population.

According to the recently issued Blue Book of Population in Beijing, the capital's non-resident population declined by 1.84 percent in 2016, 1.63 percent in 2017 and 3.74 percent in 2018.

A report issued by JD Digits Research Institute this year, on China's internal population migration and urbanization in 2018, says the rate of population outflow from the four first-tier cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen touched 1.13 percent, 0.95 percent, 1.05 percent and 2.56 percent, respectively.

The population outflow from Beijing and Shanghai has been necessitated by their plan to control their population size and to ensure the coordinated development of the population and better environmental protection for the cities' sustainable development. Shenzhen's population outflow has to do with industrial transfer among cities. For instance, the outflow of information technology professionals from Shenzhen is closely related to the transfer of Huawei's research wing from Shenzhen to Dongguan, Guangdong province.

Where the outflowing population goes on leaving the first-tier cities is also a question of public concern. According to the report, many of the migrating people rebuild their career and lives in surrounding second-tier cities.

Shanghai is the first-preference city for those leaving Beijing. Apart from Shanghai, many former Beijing residents have moved to Tianjin or nearby cities in Hebei province. Similarly, apart from Beijing, many of those leaving Shanghai shifted to second-or third-tier cities in the Yangtze River Delta region such as Suzhou, Hangzhou, Nantong and Hefei. And apart from Beijing, a majority of those leaving Shenzhen and Guangzhou have moved to nearby cities in Guangdong province such as Dongguan, Foshan, Maoming and Huizhou.

Nationwide, there's a trend showing people moving from first-tier to second- or even third-tier cities. Which is an indicator of positive development of China's major city clusters. With the integrative development of major domestic regions such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei city cluster, Yangtze River Delta city cluster and Pearl River Delta city cluster, second- and third-tier cities are developing rapidly and attracting more and more talents thanks to the multiple advantages they enjoy such as convenient transport facility, comparatively low housing prices and good living environment.

In a nutshell, the population flow is a win-win result for not only the first-but also the second-and third-tier cities, because it not only reduces the urban problems first-tier cities face, but also promotes the development of entire city clusters.