Abstract Carbon intensity targets, namely carbon emissions per unit of GDP, are used as macro-level indicators of low carbon performance at the province- and city-level in China. However, this measure is too aggregated to provide a meaningful indication of low carbon performance and inform practical management strategies. Most traditional low carbon city indicators have no direct relationship with national carbon intensity reduction targets and do not provide municipal government administrators with the practical information they need to inform low carbon development at the local level. This paper integrates city-level carbon intensity targets with a low carbon city indicator system by means of a decomposed method to offer a better approach for carbon intensity reduction performance evaluation. Using Xiamen as a case study, one of the NDRC's low-carbon project areas, a target integrated indicator system is presented, including indicator values which have been determined through scenario analysis and calculation. The indicators and values can help local municipal governments to meet their carbon intensity reduction targets by providing an indication of current performance and identifying sectors where there is scope for further improvement. The methodology provides the theoretical basis and reference values for the evaluation of a city's low carbon performance within the context of achieving a carbon reduction target, thereby enhancing the potential for scientific and operational evaluation at the local level.