With China's opening up and intensified competition in the key cities, savvy businesses are turning their eyes to the country's second- and third-tier cities, 30 of which have emerged as the best business targets.

Global real estate management and consulting company Jones Lang LaSalle has undertaken a study to assess the real estate opportunities and prospects beyond China's familiar first-tier coastal cities.

In the latest "China 30" White Paper, the firm maps out the country's current and future major business locations and identifies the drivers that will create a new city hierarchy over the next five years.

The research highlights 30 second- and third-tier cities that are expected to be on the radar of real estate occupiers, investors and developers. It predicts these cities will become the benchmark against which real estate performance in China will be measured over the next decade.

The study formed part of Jones Lang LaSalle's World Winning Cities research, a multi-year global program to identify the world's rising urban stars.

"While many opportunities still exist in China's core cities, rising prices, increased competition and often the greater complexity of doing business in such high-profile locations are encouraging businesses and real estate players to consider the option of new, cheaper and potentially more rewarding markets further afield," said Kenny Ho, head of Jones Lang LaSalle Research for Shanghai.

"The economic ripple initiated by the huge success of the primary cities of Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen is finally washing into a new generation of Chinese cities."

The "China 30" cities have been identified through an evaluation of their economic fundamentals, coupled with an analysis of their evolving commercial geography, based on the presence of a basket of major multinationals, hi-tech companies, retail mall developers and retail banks.

"These cities have moved beyond being industrial outposts. We're seeing major expansion across China by professional service firms and retailers," said Anna Kalifa, head of Jones Lang LaSalle Research for Beijing.

She said secondary locations like Tianjin and Hangzhou that are close to primary locations such as Beijing and Shanghai are particularly booming in terms of investment and retailer demand.

The report also looks at the recent and modern history of international property investment in Chinese cities and the major drivers of growth and the likely time required by each city to progress on to the international stage.

The report highlights five second-tier cities - Suzhou of East China's Jiangsu Province, North China's Tianjin, Hangzhou of East China's Zhejiang Province, Chengdu of Southwest China's Sichuan Province and Dalian of Northeast China's Liaoning Province - that are already making their mark.

Nanjing, Wuhan, Chongqing, Qingdao, Shenyang, Dongguan, Xiamen and Xi'an have also been successful in growing their indigenous businesses and attracting foreign direct investment.

Some third-tier cities, notably Harbin, Fuzhou, Wuxi, Jinan, Ningbo, Zhengzhou, Changchun and Changsha are putting in place the conditions to create a solid economic profile and are beginning to taste success in creating real estate demand.

Other third-tier cities such as Kunming, Nanning, Nanchang, Hefei and Changzhou are poised to realize their full growth potential based on a mix of strengths, and in some cases, developing specializations.