Xi'an selected among world financial centers

Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, ranked 11th and 117th among world financial centers in China and the world, respectively, according to the 31st edition of the Global Financial Centers Index jointly published by the Shenzhen-based China Development Institute and United Kingdom independent think tank Z/Yen Partners on March 24.

The index, which has been released in March and September every year since 2007, assesses 119 financial centers based on surveys and 150 other factors, including business environment, human capital, infrastructure, financial industry development, and reputation.

A total of 12 cities on the Chinese mainland made the list: Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Qingdao, Hangzhou, Dalian, Tianjin, Nanjing, Xi'an and Wuhan.

In 2020, the added value of Xi'an's financial industry reached about 107 billion yuan ($16.78 billion), ranking seventh among sub-provincial cities, with an average annual growth rate of 7.7 percent over the past five years and accounting for 10.99 percent of its GDP.

During the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) period, Xi'an became the 7th sub-provincial city with deposits and loan balances exceeding 2 trillion yuan.

So far, Xi'an is striving to promote the reform of its financial system, and its banking and insurance industry has become a highlight of the city's economic development.

As of the end of December 2021, there were 56 banking financial institutions in the city, and the net profit of banking institutions was 45.94 billion yuan. The total tax payments of banking institutions in Xi'an increased by 26.57 percent year-on-year.

In November 2020, Xi'an obtained qualification to become a digital RMB pilot area. As of the end of December 2021, a total of 27.131 million digital RMB personal wallets have been opened in the city, which is 2.09 times the resident population of Xi'an.

It has been proposed in the development plan for Xi'an's financial industry during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period that a financial system with multiple clusters of financial institutions, multiple types of financial products, and multi-layer services in the capital market be established in the city.