File photo shows a view of the Lujiazui area in Shanghai, east China. Photo:Xinhua

China's first-tier cities - Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou - topped the rankings in regard to their respective business environments, following a comprehensive evaluation completed by China Media Group on Thursday.

The top four is exactly the same as previous year's report; with Nanjing in East China's Jiangsu Province moving up three places to become sixth, and Hangzhou in East China's Zhejiang Province moving one place to seventh. In other cities, Chongqing ranked fifth, Chengdu, Tianjin, and Ningbo ranked eighth, ninth, and 10th, respectively. 

The report evaluates cities according to criteria such as the city's infrastructure, human resources, financial services, government environment, and future innovation. There were four municipalities, 27 provincial capitals, and five cities reviewed in the report.

"A city's business environment can be evaluated in many aspects, including its local governments' service level, degree of 'opening up' as well as local economic development," Liu Xuezhi, a macroeconomics expert from the Bank of Communications, told the Global Times on Thursday, adding that business environments in the middle and western regions of China have improved significantly in recent years.

Under the "inclusive innovation" category, Beijing, Chongqing, and Shanghai occupied the first three positions; however, some cities in the middle and western regions of the country, such as Lhasa and Yinchuan, were also ranked on the list.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) on the Chinese mainland is another important factor that researchers use to evaluate a city's business environment, Liu said, adding that it's also important to review the economic activity of local small- to medium-sized enterprises, particularly those businesses run by individuals. FDI into the Chinese mainland expanded 11.8 percent year-on-year to 70.36 billion yuan ($9.94 billion) in April, according to China's Ministry of Commerce.

With most Chinese cities already improving their business environment, Liu highlighted that many cities still have room to improve, such as improving local regulations to build a fairer economic environment. In fact, Liu added, smaller cities should use their "underdog" tag to their advantage and grasp every opportunity that arises.