What does a sub-central city mean?

Sub-central cities are cities between central cities and general cities.

Sub-central cities are not equal to provincial capital cities, cities with separate plans and special zones, but are equivalent to other prefecture-level cities in level, but the leadership system is different from other prefecture-level cities, that is, the leadership of the municipal party Committee of sub-central cities is concurrently held by the provincial party Committee and the provincial government. The main purpose of sub-central cities is to solve the problem that the terminal attenuation of radiation and the rising cost of urban management affect the speed of economic growth and the improvement of people's livelihood during the development of provincial central cities, and it is necessary to cultivate new cities with economic growth poles, namely sub-central cities.