For the 14th consecutive time, Tianjin Economic and Technological Development Area took first place in a ranking China’s development zones conducted by the Ministry of Commerce.

And the top 10 state-level development zones are: Tianjin, Suzhou, Guangzhou, Kunshan, Qingdao, Yantai, Beijing, Shanghai Caohejing, Dalian and Hangzhou.

Yesterday, the Ministry of Commerce announced in Jiangsu the 2010 Annual Comprehensive Evaluation of the Investment Environments of State-Level Development Areas, which ranked the development zones according to eight indicators, including comprehensive economic strength, infrastructure, operating costs, human resources and social responsibility, environmental protection, energy conservation and emission reduction, environment for technology innovation, management system construction and efficiency index.

Since the State Council started to upgrade the provincial-level development zones in 2009, 74 provincial development zones have been approved. As of today, there are 128 state-level development zones nationwide. The Ministry of Commerce took 90 development zones, including 36 newly upgraded ones into the 2010 comprehensive evaluation.

Compared with the last evaluation, the top ten zones remain those located in the eastern areas.

And the top 10 of the state-level development zones in the central areas are: Changchun, Hefei, Changsha, Harbin, Wuhu, Wuhan, Nanchang, Zhengzhou, Taiyuan and Anqing.

Of the 22 state-level development zones in the western areas, the top ten are: Xi’an, Chengdu, Urumqi, Kunming, Chongqing, Deyang, Hohhot, Yinchuan, Shannxi Aeronautic area and Shannxi Aerospace area.

According to the evaluation, the 90 development zones vary significantly in comprehensive economic strength, environment for technology innovation and infrastructure. However, those development zones match each other in operating costs, environmental protection, energy conservation and emissions reduction.