The Milken Institute, an independent economic think tank in the U.S., has released its first report ranking Chinese cities on their economic performance.

A total of 266 Chinese cities at prefecture level and above were involved, divided into two groups, one consisting of 34 first-and-second-tier cities and the other a group of 232 small-and-medium-sized, third-tier cities.

Suzhou in Jiangsu Province was rated as the best economic performer in the latter group.

Seven of the top 10 best-performing third-tier cities are in Jiangsu Province. All of them have benefited from Shanghai's proximity and an influx of talent and technologies.

The rankings are based on actual economic performance, rather than projected success. The index considers job and income growth, gross regional product (GRP), and foreign direct investment (FDI), as well as the strength of high value-added industries.

The top 10 best-performing third-tier cities are:

 Yichang, Hubei Province

Yichang, Hubei Province [China.org.cn]

Overall ranking in China: 17th

Total population: 4 million