On September 24, 2025, the "International Exchange Center Index (IECI) 2025" press conference was held at Tsinghua University. The China Institute for Development Planning at Tsinghua University (CIDP) and Deloitte China's Institute of International Exchange Centers jointly released the report.
The International Exchange Center Index was publicly released globally for two consecutive years in 2023 and 2024. This year marks the third release of the index. The research theme of this year focuses on "International Exchange Centers amid De-globalization: Navigating Opportunities and Challenges", delving into the challenges brought by factors such as international trade frictions and geopolitical risks to the development of international exchange center cities, and exploring how international metropolises can leverage their strong adaptability to seek new opportunities.
The report continues to use the relatively mature research framework of attractiveness, influence, and connectivity in its basic theoretical system, with a focus on expanding the analysis in the context of de-globalization. At the same time, the technical methods have been optimized, and the total number of cities under evaluation has been expanded to 50, further increasing the representation and proportion of cities from developing countries.
In this round of assessment, the top ten cities in the comprehensive ranking are: London, Paris, New York, Seoul, Singapore, Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo, San Francisco, and Bangkok, with San Francisco and Bangkok tied for the 10th place. Compared with the previous round of assessment, London, Paris, and New York continue to rank in the top three. Seoul, with its progress in technological innovation and business exchanges, has entered the top five for the first time, rising to the 4th place. Beijing, with improvements in its business environment, recovery of inbound tourism, technological innovation, and transportation connectivity, has risen one place to the 6th position. Shanghai, with the recovery of inbound tourism, economic development, and cultural education, has jumped from the 11th place in the previous round to the 8th place, entering the top ten for the first time. Singapore and San Francisco have maintained their rankings at the 5th and 10th places respectively. Hong Kong has dropped three places to the 7th place, Tokyo has fallen one place to the 9th place, and Madrid has dropped out of the top ten, falling to the 12th place.
Figure 1: Comprehensive Scores and Rankings of All Cities Evaluated
Figure 2: Comprehensive Ranking Changes for All Cities
The report finds that the current development of international communication and exchange centers presents the following main characteristics:
First, the status of international communication and exchange centers is highly correlated with the size of the economy. Economic volume is the key foundation for supporting international communication and exchange capabilities, but their long-term development often depends on the effective release of the quality dividend of the population.
Second, multi-center urban systems often have stronger resilience and adaptability when facing the impact of de-globalization. Especially with the continuous improvement of information infrastructure and the continuous improvement of the global city network, more national urban systems will show a trend of multi-center and networked evolution.
Third, the increasingly diversified and differentiated development models of cities make cities more flexible in responding to de-globalization compared to countries. The closely connected urban network has formed an interaction pattern where you have me and I have you, becoming a solid bulwark against the de-globalization wave.
The report suggests that international communication and exchange centers need to proactively adjust their functional positioning, upgrade their industrial structure, and strengthen institutional openness to achieve resilient growth in the face of the de-globalization wave. They should strengthen horizontal cooperation among cities, maintain their advantages in scientific and technological innovation, balance the relationship between security and openness, adopt diversified trade routes, and continue to create a favorable international development environment, striving to make cities safe havens in the de-globalization tide.
As the world's first index report on international communication and exchange centers, this report has been continuously released for three years. Through data collection, index calculation, and qualitative research, it has gained a deeper understanding of the role and function of international communication and exchange centers in global factor aggregation, international political and economic exchanges, and world cultural exchanges. It has also gained a clearer understanding of the direction and path of urban internationalization development in the new era.
The report reflects the changes in the international communication and exchange capabilities of each participating city over the past three years, as well as their advantages and shortcomings, through city portraits, striving to provide better references for government managers and public policy practitioners in formulating urban development strategies and plans.
© China Institute for Development Planning at Tsinghua University
