City branding serves as a strategic tool for urban development by conveying an appealing image of the city, enhancing its external awareness and reputation, and attracting both investors and visitors. Effective city branding requires strong and capable leadership to fully leverage available resources and capabilities. However, the motives, roles and influences of political leaders in branding initiatives have been underexamined. This gap in research should be further addressed within the context of authoritarian regimes. Based on a case study of Dalian, China, this article examines how the local political leader initiated new governance strategies and implemented place-based policies and urban planning to create a new brand identity for Dalian. It argues that, while Dalian’s branding initiatives significantly enhanced the city’s national and international visibility and competitiveness, it contravened the principles of socioeconomic and industrial development and infringed the rights and interests of the local disadvantaged population. This approach to branding and development highlights its inherently political nature, as it effectively bolstered the political leader’s personal image while advancing his own political career. By exploring the Dalian case, the article deepens both the conceptual and empirical knowledge of the political economic dimension of place branding within an authoritarian context.