The research report from Marketsandmarkets says that continuous developments in mobile apps that are based on advanced technologies, such as Fifth Generation (5G), Internet of Things (IoT), and cloud computing, and IT outsourcing are the booming areas within the software segment of China Smart City. Moreover, Zhongguancun, Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou are the regions posing an increasing trend for the software segment. Key market players in the smart infrastructure include Hollysys, Nari Technology, China Railway Electrification Engineering Group.

Analysts found that the smart transportation segment is the prime focus of smart city development in china with about 70% of projects are concentrated towards transportation sector transformation. Within the report, it is the hardware market that is predicted to cover the majority of investments in smart transportation. It accounts for more than 80% of the overall smart transportation market. However, the services market is the highest growing market in the smart transportation segment during the forecast period. In smart transportation, research shows that the majority of ICT investments are taking place in smart mobility areas. The sharing and renting sub-market holds the majority of the market share in the smart mobility segment; followed by intelligent traffic management (automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) and accident prevention) which has the second highest market share. Key market players found to be active in the smart transportation sector include Advantech, Kontron and the China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC).

The report shows that China is making progress in improving the surveillance of its people with the addition of AI, facial, and gait recognition capabilities in its security and systems. China is more focused on a surveillance system that will connect security cameras nationwide via the cloud to a database of every person’s facial ID profile and a file of their personal details. Hangzhou based Hikvision a video surveillance company is one of the most prominent players in the world CCTV camera and video surveillance equipment market. In 2015, the Ministry of Public Security launched a project aiming to establish a giant facial recognition database to identify any citizen within seconds, the project is still under the development phase. Its target is to achieve an accuracy rate of 90% but faces formidable technological hurdles. The project aims to identify any one of its 1.3 billion citizens within 3 seconds. The country is more focused on the real-time analysis of surveillance data using the sensor system to improve public system and security.

Marketsandmarkets researchers found that the Chinese government has begun to adopt and implement various smart city initiatives. The performance of smart city initiatives significantly varies from one initiative to the other. There is a strong financial and institutional support from the central and local government for making smart city initiatives. Along with the population push and the need for rapid urbanisation, environmental pollution is also a key driver for the development of smart cities in China. On the other hand, say the researchers, the smart cities initiatives are not only driven by technical rationalities but also by political rationalities.