In its Approval on the Overall Urban Pan, the State Council have explicitly accorded the national urban function to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Chongqing and explicitly accorded the "internationalization" function to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

The Central Government's approval on the overall urban planning have confirmed that the basic functions of the cities in the nation’s development including their positioning, development directions and boundaries and in the future, all the cities have to make room for development based on this fundamental guideline.