All of Ningbo's four county-level areas made the 2021 list of the top 100 counties in terms of investment competitiveness in China, according to a recent report.

The report was compiled by CCID Consulting, a firm affiliated with a think tank under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and involved 1,870 county-level administrative regions in China.

It evaluated their investment competitiveness from aspects such as government service, investment vitality, infrastructure construction and ecological conservation.

Cixi, a county-level city in Ningbo, was ranked third on the list, while the county-level city of Yuyao, Xiangshan county and Ninghai county were ranked 7th, 34th and 51st respectively.

Official statistics show that Cixi's gross domestic product (GDP) hit 164.939 billion yuan ($25.37 billion) in the first three quarters of this year, up 10.3 percent year-on-year.

The added value of industrial enterprises above designated size from the city amounted to 91.986 billion yuan over the nine-month period, rising by 14.1 percent.

Emerging industries and new infrastructure have created new engines fueling investment growth in county-level administrative areas in China, according to the report.

A total of 27 counties or county-level cities from Zhejiang made the list, followed by Jiangsu, with the combined number from the two provinces accounting for nearly half of the nation's total.