Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan, has topped an economic study of best-performing cities in China, while seven cities in eastern China's Jiangsu province made the top 10 list of lower-tier sites.

Compiled by the independent United States think-tank Milken Institute, the rankings were based on a mix of economic conditions in 266 cities across China.

The 34 first-and second-tier cities and 232 third-tier sites were measured predominantly on employment levels, wage rises, regional gross domestic product, and levels of foreign direct investment.