I am a multinational corporation (MNC) and I want to set up a China regional headquarters (RHQ), but I'm confused as to where to look. There's no doubt that Shanghai is still booming, with good infrastructure and incredible potential, but in Beijing I'd be close to the government and regulators. I know that both cities have recently extended incentives to multinationals; I've also heard a lot about China's second-tier cities.

Where should I set up my China headquarters?

The international perspective
When choosing a city in which to set up their headquarters in China, multinational corporations may have to consider various factors.

First, what is the city's potential for economic development? Beijing is consistently ranked by the China Headquarters Economic Research Centre as the city with the best potential, followed by Shanghai; and Nanjing, Hangzhou and Tianjin are amongst the top of the second-tier cities.