LAUSR

Abstract This article contributes to the academic discussion on city branding as a form of multi-level urban governance, by investigating city branding tied to urban policies and state strategies in Chinese mega-cities, using Guangzhou as a case study. The findings illustrate that city branding is an integrated part of multi-level urban governance, highlights how city branding is interlinked with national, regional and local levels, and exemplifies how city branding strategies and practices are utilized to formulate and implement growth-driven urban policy in China, shedding light on multi-level perspectives in city branding, in China and more generally.