Inclusive wealth growth pathways within the carbon peak target for Chinese cities

China is committed to the Sustainable Development Agenda and peaking its carbon emissions by 2030. However, interactions between these two agendas and pathways to achieving both remain understudied. This study assesses the sustainability performances and carbon emission patterns of Chinese cities and analyzes their interplay. To measure sustainability, we adopt the Inclusive Wealth Index framework that looks at the productive base of an economy, including produced capital, human capital, and natural capital. The results reveal that several national demonstration zones achieve sustainable peaking in correspondence with declining emissions and increasing sustainability from 2012 to 2019, driven by industrial transformation, education improvement, and renewable resources growth. Comparatively, some northeastern cities mitigate emissions by cutting carbon-intensive industries but fail to develop new sectors to support socioeconomic development, leading to a decline in well-being. Our findings emphasize the need for cities to synergize sustainable development and carbon-peaking pathways while tailoring strategies to local contexts.