Yantai's counties of Longkou, Zhaoyuan and Laizhou were included in the 2019 list of the 100 most competitive counties in China, according to a recent report released in Beijing.
Published by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the list is based on gross regional domestic product, public revenue and the number of industrial enterprises above designated size.
The report studied the overall competitiveness and investment potential indexes of a total of 400 counties (or county-level cities) in 2019.
The top three counties were Kunshan, Jiangyin and Zhangjiagang, all located in Jiangsu province.
Longkou was the only county in Shandong province to make the top 10. Zhaoyuan and Laizhou ranked 48th and 52nd, respectively.