Jiaozhou, Pingdu and Laixi in Qingdao, Shandong province were included among China's top 100 counties in 2020, according to a list released by CCID Consulting on July 28.

The evaluation of the counties was based on factors such as overall economic strength, growth potential, prosperity and eco-friendly development.

CCID Consulting is a scientific research institute directly attached to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. It conducts studies of the economy, regional development and emerging industries in China.

File photo: Jiaozhou in Qingdao [Photo/dailyqd.com]

Jiaozhou, which has been promoting the construction of the China-Shanghai Cooperation Organization Demonstration Zone for Local Economic and Trade Cooperation, was ranked 12th on the list. Pingdu and Laixi were ranked 47th and 75th respectively.

Last year, Jiaozhou's revenue in general public budgets totaled 10.24 billion yuan ($1.48 billion), an increase of 9 percent year-on-year. Its added value of industries above a designated size increased by about 10 percent while investment in fixed assets rose by 25 percent. The county's foreign trade reached 52 billion yuan, up 16.6 percent year-on-year.  

File photo: Pingdu in Qingdao [Photo/dailyqd.com]

In the first half of this year, Pingdu signed 63 key industrial projects with a total investment of 54.6 billion yuan, up 16.7 percent and 45.2 percent respectively from the same period last year.

In the first quarter of this year, the fixed asset investment in Laixi increased by 9.5 percent year-on-year, ranking first among the ten districts in Qingdao. Investment in "Four New Economy" (new technology, new business pattern, new development mode, and new industry) rose by 223.2 percent, accounting for 66.4 percent of the county's total.

File photo: Laixi in Qingdao [Photo/dailyqd.com]