Size matters

This chapter investigates how the size of a city influences its international activity, particularly in the context of relations with China. It begins by revisiting existing literature on city diplomacy and urban governance, which suggests that population, economic capacity, and institutional resources strongly shape a city's ability to act internationally. The analysis draws on the OECD and Eurostat classification of cities by size but simplifies it into two categories (small and large cities) with 250,000 inhabitants as the dividing line. Survey results reveal clear differences in the scope, motivation, and forms of cooperation with Chinese partners between these two groups. Larger cities tend to pursue structured, strategically framed partnerships, while smaller municipalities rely more on personal relations, symbolic exchanges, and ad hoc initiatives. Four case studies, i.e. Amsterdam (The Netherlands), Barcelona (Spain), Dietzenbach (Germany), and Ostrów Wielkopolski (Poland), illustrate these contrasts in practice. They show how resources, administrative capacity, and leadership shape the effectiveness of city diplomacy. The chapter concludes that while size matters, it does not predetermine success because local agency, political vision, and the ability to mobilise partners may compensate for limited structural capacity.