Ding Changfa, an associate professor of economics at the Xiamen University, feels that Ningbo should capitalize on its strengths, rather than compete with other regions. 

"Ningbo should not compete with Hangzhou, the provincial capital, in industrial upgrading or with Shanghai for modern service industry or headquarters economy. Instead it should find its own position and advantage, like in high-end manufacturing," said Ding. 

"Take the case of Shanghai. It has excessive technology and capital that needs to flow outside the city, while technology education is what is lacking in Ningbo. Ningbo should focus on introducing more education resources so that it can benefit from Shanghai's technology, culture and education resources," he said. 

Xu Sutao, deputy general manager of Greatwall Strategy Consultants, feels that "Ningbo must aim for the bigger picture, such as turning industrialization to intelligentization and accelerating the growth pace to Industrial 4.0."

Apart from upgrading its industrial structure, Ningbo also needs to evolve as a city of higher strategical importance, said Xu.

"The development pace in urbanization has fallen behind it's economic growth," Xu said. "It should turn from just being a city to a regional center. Only through urbanization at a higher level, can it embrace a brighter future."