Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Shanghai retain their spots as the three most competitive cities, according to the latest annual report on urban competitiveness in the country.

Qingdao, a coastal city in Shandong province, makes it to the top-10 list for the first time after it hosted the sailing events of the Beijing Olympic Games last summer.

The seventh edition of the Blue Book on Urban Competitiveness was launched yesterday by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).