Recently, the Central Office for Special Work on Rectifying Formalism and Reducing Burdens on the Grassroots, in conjunction with the General Office of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, publicly reported on three typical cases of problems related to rectifying formalism and reducing burdens on the grassroots. Among them, Haicheng City in Liaoning Province spent nearly five million yuan in high fees to purchase consulting services from a certain "Top 100 Counties" ranking evaluation agency, which helped it achieve an improved position in the ranking. On January 20, staff from the involved ranking agency, CCID CONSULTING, responded to reporters, stating that the company is currently conducting an internal investigation and reviewing its related internal businesses. If any issues are discovered during the investigation, they will be promptly announced to the public.
The public notice mentioned that in June 2024, Haicheng City spent 4.98 million yuan to sign a consulting project contract for "Comprehensive Services for County Economy and New Quality Productive Forces Research" with a certain "Top 100 Counties" ranking evaluation agency. The research for this consulting project failed to propose valuable development suggestions based on local realities. Haicheng City, considering factors such as its "Top 100 County" ranking, did not raise any objections to the evaluation agency regarding the weak practical effectiveness of the project outcomes, leading to a perfunctory project acceptance process.
During the evaluation process for the 2025 ranking, the evaluation agency helped several cooperating counties (cities) achieve listing and advancement in the "Top 100 Counties" ranking by increasing their subjective indicator scores. Among them, Haicheng City was adjusted from an objective indicator score ranking of 118th to a comprehensive score ranking of 91st.
The notice pointed out that some local governments and departments, seeking political achievement, are willing to spend money to buy empty prestige, striving to be listed or advance in various rankings such as "Top 100 Counties" and "Top 1000 Towns." This practice increases grassroots "involution" and fiscal burdens, and abets the profit-seeking behavior of ranking evaluation agencies.
Public information from local related reports shows that Haicheng is a county-level city administered by Anshan. Related reports mentioned that on July 23, 2025, the 2025 County Economic Innovation Development Forum was held in Beijing. The "2025 Research on High-Quality Development of China's County Economy" report and the 2025 National Top 100 County Economies ranking were officially released. Haicheng City, Liaoning Province, made it into the ranks of China's Top 100 County Economies, positioned at 91st place, achieving an advanced position in national county development. This "achievement" was even written into the Haicheng City government work report for 2025. The institution that released this ranking was "CCID CONSULTING."
Reporters learned by querying the Liaoning Government Procurement website that in June 2024, CCID CONSULTING Co., Ltd., with a total score of 85.42, won the bid for the "Haicheng City County Economy and New Quality Productive Forces Comprehensive Service Project," with a winning bid amount of 4.98 million yuan. The project purchaser was the Haicheng City Bureau of Industry and Information Technology.
Regarding how the local authorities will handle Haicheng City's expenditure of high fees to purchase consulting services to achieve ranking advancement, and whether the fee has currently been paid to CCID CONSULTING, reporters called the project purchaser, the Haicheng City Bureau of Industry and Information Technology, on the afternoon of January 20. The staff member answering the phone stated that leadership is currently studying the matter, and the specific handling situation is not yet clear, suggesting inquiries be directed to the Haicheng City government, as "the government commissioned the Bureau of Industry and Information Technology to handle this matter."
Reporters dialed the public contact number for the Haicheng City People's Government Office. The staff member there indicated that inquiries could be directed to the Municipal Party Committee Propaganda Department for understanding. Staff from the relevant office of the Haicheng Municipal Party Committee Propaganda Department told reporters that the department head is temporarily unavailable, and that they would inquire about the relevant situation and then respond. As of the reporters' deadline, no reply had been received.
On the afternoon of the 20th, regarding this matter, staff from CCID CONSULTING responded to reporters, stating that the company is currently conducting an internal investigation and reviewing its related internal businesses. "We have been conducting this research related to the county ranking for many years; it is a relatively routine business for us and has played a positive role in the development of the nation's counties. If any issues are discovered during the investigation, they will be promptly announced to the public."
According to the CCID CONSULTING website, the company is affiliated with the China Center for Information Industry Development (CCID) and is the first listed consulting enterprise in China (Stock Code: HK02176). CCID CONSULTING has established four major service systems: research, consulting, implementation, and digitalization.
CCID CONSULTING's interim results for 2025 show that the company's turnover was approximately 129 million yuan, an increase of about 7% compared to the same period last year; gross profit was approximately 76.79 million yuan, an increase of about 12% year-on-year, with a gross profit margin of approximately 59% (approximately 57% for the same period last year). The company's profit was approximately 42.99 million yuan, an increase of about 12% compared to the same period last year.