Journal article: In this paper we study the effect of economic complexity on city-level GDP per capita growth in China. We build a measure of economic complexity at the city level using the method of reflections of Hidalgo and Hausmann [(2009]. ). Our indicator reflects the diversity and the ubiquity of capabilities present in the locality. Our estimates are based on a panel of 221 Chinese cities between 1997 and 2009 and indicate that the more complex the city's productive structure, the faster its subsequent gdp GDP per capita growth.