The 2021 list of China's top 100 counties and county-level cities for economic development was released on Aug 4 and the county-level city of Qidong – under the jurisdiction of Nantong in East China's Jiangsu province – performed strongly.

Qidong ranked 27th, with two fellow county-level cities and a county – all administered by the prefecture-level city of Nantong – making the list, compiled by the urban economic research center of CCID Consulting.

CCID Consulting falls directly under aegis of the China Electronic Information Industry Development Research Institute at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. It is understood to be the first consulting firm in the Chinese mainland to be listed on the Hong Kong GEM – or growth enterprise market – and to have passed the international ISO9001 standard certification.

This year the list employed a new assessment system, focusing on high-quality development and composed of four key review areas: economic strength, growth potential, affluence level and green development.

In 2020, Qidong's GDP topped 122.3 billion yuan ($18.9 billion), ranking 21st among China's counties and county-level cities, while per capita GDP exceeded 120,000 yuan.

The output value of high-tech industries in Qidong accounted for 54.6 percent of the city's total last year, which was 8.1 percentage points higher than in 2015.

In the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20), three Qidong companies were listed on stock exchanges, as well as five on the NEEQ – or National Equities Exchange and Quotations board – which offers small and medium-sized enterprises a financing channel with low costs and simpler listing procedures.