Shanghai on Tuesday has been crowned as the "most competitive city in China" for the fourth time, beating 358 other Chinese cities. According to a report, Shanghai came in first in the China economy and seventh globally.

The research, which has been carried out by Hong Kong-based China Institute of City Competitiveness, took note of the fact that despite the harsh economic times in China, Shanghai was still able to attain a gradual economic growth.

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Shanghai had registered a GDP of nearly 2 trillion yuan ($281 billion) with a 6.7 percent growth rate, according to the data released for the first three-quarters of 2016.

"Over the past few years, Shanghai has remained on a fast track with an annual growth as high as 7%," Gui Qiangfang, the chairman of the institution, said.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong and Shenzhen secured the second and third spots, respectively, the China.org noted.

"Hong Kong managed to maintain a 2% annual growth," Gui said, noting that Hong Kong's financial capability had given it an upper hand over other competitors. Furthermore, in terms of global economy, Hong Kong also managed to snatch the ninth spot, while New York, Tokyo, and London occupied the first to third places, respectively.

Shenzhen, on the other hand, also showed a GDP growth rate of 8.7 percent in 2015.

Tagschina, Shanghai, CICC, Economy