Recently, the "2021 City's Business attractiveness ranking list" was released, which relies on five major indicators to observe and evaluate the development of cities. According to the ranking, Dongguan has once again entered the first-tier city club. This is the fifth consecutive year that Dongguan has been shortlisted for new first-tier cities. Its position has remained unchanged from last year, ranking 11th in the nation.

The new first-tier cities refers to the cities that are most likely to become the first-tier in the future. With Chengdu topping the list, the other 14 new first-tier cities are Hangzhou, Chongqing, Xi'an, Suzhou, Wuhan, Nanjing, Tianjin, Zhengzhou, Changsha, Dongguan, Foshan, Ningbo, Qingdao and Shenyang. Guangdong has two cities, Dongguan and Foshan, on the list. Dongguan is in 11th place, ahead of Foshan. 

The list measures the commercial charm of 337 domestic cities at the prefecture level and above based on the five major indicators: the richness of commercial resources, convenience of intercity transportation, the active lives of the urban population, the diversity of lifestyles, and development potential.