Ningbo in East China's Zhejiang province ranked 10th among cities nationwide in terms of business climate in 2019, according to a recent report by China Central Television. 

The city, with a score of 79 points, moved up 10 slots from 2018, indicating rapid improvement in its business climate. 

Beijing topped the list, followed by Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Tianjin and Ningbo.

The strong results are largely due to efforts made by the local government to optimize the business climate in recent years.

The city has rolled out 80 measures to create a market-oriented and law-based business environment that is in line with international standards. 

"The business environment of a place has a direct impact on the local economy," said Qiu Dongyao, mayor of Ningbo, "Ningbo is seeing robust economic growth momentum thanks to the continuous improvement of its business environment."

The congenial business climate has made the city a magnet for global talent and investment.

In the past two years, Ningbo has introduced 21 new industrial technology research institutes, increasing the total number in the city to 69. The number of full-time academicians has increased from just one to 17.

The city's net inflow rate of talent has ranked second in China for the past two years, among which the net inflow rate of manufacturing talent topped the country. 

Ningbo has been designated a national demonstration city for entrepreneurship and innovation.

In 2019, the number of market entities in Ningbo exceeded 1 million. There were seven newly listed enterprises, bringing the total number to 102, among which 83 were listed in China, ranking 8th in China. The city's actual utilized foreign capital surged by 19.7 percent last year.

Thus far this year, a number of multinational juggernauts including Daimler, Fresenius and Walmart have established a business presence in Ningbo. To date, 66 Fortune 500 companies have invested in 144 projects in the city.