Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/Ningbo Evening News]

Ningbo in East China's Zhejiang province has maintained its position as one of the top 15 emerging first-tier cities in China, according to the recently-released 2023 Ranking of Cities' Business Attractiveness in China by financial media outlet Yicai.

Despite being ranked two slots lower than the previous year, the city came in 14th among the new first-tier cities, marking the seventh time Ningbo has been ranked as a new first-tier city in the past eight years.

Chengdu in Southwest China's Sichuan province topped the list of new first-tier cities, followed by Chongqing, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Suzhou, Xi'an, Nanjing, Changsha, Tianjin, Zhengzhou, Dongguan, Qingdao, Kunming, Ningbo, and Hefei.

The ranking evaluated cities across the country on factors such as commercial resource concentration, level of connectedness with the rest of the country, urban residents' activity, diversity of lifestyle, and future potential.

Ningbo was ranked 17th in commercial resource concentration nationwide, while its rankings for diversity of lifestyle and urban residents' activity were both 16th. The city also demonstrated strong innovative capability, which contributed to its ranking of 19th nationwide in terms of future potential.

With a GDP of over 1 trillion yuan ($140.85 billion), Ningbo is home to 116 A-share listed enterprises, putting it among the top 10 cities in China in this regard.

Additionally, strategic emerging sectors, such as new energy and new materials, have exhibited robust growth in the city.