BEIJING — Central Chinese cities hold the most promising prospects for growth and business thanks to quickening urbanization and industrial development, reported a British think tank.

Central provinces of Anhui, Henan, Hubei, Hunan and Jiangxi dominated the top performers of the latest ranking of Chinese emerging cities by British think tank Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

Suzhou city in Eastern China’s Anhui province came first thanks to strong gains in urbanization and metropolitan population, followed by Yueyang city in Central China’s Hunan province.

The two cities have made steady progress in developing industrial economies as the Chinese government’s plan to promote city clusters has provided policy tailwinds, the report said.

“Beyond the traditional megacities along the coast, third- and fourth-tier cities in Central China are rising in economic importance and should be on the radar of China-focused businesses,” said Wang Dan, a China analyst at the EIU.

The EIU’s China Emerging City Rankings are based on a variety of indicators to measure growth, including real GDP, metropolitan population, urban consumption expenditure, foreign direct investment, fixed-asset investment, the urban built area and policy support.