The International Exchange Centers Index 2022 was released in Beijing on Wednesday, aimed at reflecting the development of major international exchange centers around the world and providing guidance for policymakers in creating city development plans.

The International Exchange Centers Index 2022 is released at Tsinghua University in Beijing, Feb. 8, 2023. [Photo by Cui Can/China.org.cn]

International exchange centers are global or regional cities that have the function of linking and serving the world, are capable of gathering international high-end factors, and play a key role in global affairs. They are crucial nodes and hubs in the dynamic network of international exchanges, says the report.

Jointly compiled by the China Institute for Development Planning of Tsinghua University and Deloitte China, the report is the first of its kind in the world. It evaluates 37 major cities across the globe based on a framework including three first-level indicators of "attractiveness, influence and connectivity," as well as 11 second-level indicators and 25 third-level indicators. 

London, New York, Paris, Singapore, Seoul, Hong Kong, Beijing, Tokyo, San Francisco and Copenhagen are the top 10 cities by ranking on the index. China's capital city Beijing was the only Chinese mainland city to make the top 10, ranking third in influence, 24th in attractiveness, and 13th in connectivity.

In terms of second-level indicators, the report highlights Beijing's strength in sci-tech innovation, as it ranked second in this category, benefiting from the city's high-quality sci-tech innovation resources. Over the past five years, Beijing has had the second highest number of highly cited sci-tech papers, with the fifth highest number of PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) applications among the 37 cities in the report. 

In addition, thanks to its rich historical and cultural resources and higher education resources, Beijing ranked third in terms of culture and education. The city has also demonstrated strong economic competitiveness, with its ranking of fifth in economic development. Beijing has played a crucial role in global economic development and resource allocation by gathering China's top economic policy and financial resources, and it boasts the largest number of headquarters of Fortune 500 companies among the cities in the report.

Yang Weimin, a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and deputy director of the Committee for Economic Affairs of the CPPCC National Committee, noted that the report examines the development of cities from the perspective of international engagement as China continues its efforts to build a modern socialist country and advance high-level opening-up.

"It has policy implications not only for cities positioned as international exchange centers, but also for other cities in China to expand opening-up and engage in international exchanges," he said.

In the future, efforts will be made to improve the evaluation framework and increase the number of cities being evaluated, as well as enhance the data collection process and the building of a robust database, said Yang Yongheng, leader of the research group and the associate dean of the China Institute for Development Planning of Tsinghua University, adding that the results will be released on a regular basis. 

Around 100 experts and representatives from the CPPCC National Committee, government departments, embassies and enterprises attended the event, where they exchanged ideas on promoting international exchanges among cities.