At a parallel meeting of this year's Annual Conference of Financial Street Forum on Thursday, the Beijing Frontier Institute of Regulation and Supervision Technology released the Global FinTech Hub Report 2025, highlighting the increasingly competitive nature of the global fintech sector.

Cui Zhisheng, deputy head of Beijing's Xicheng district, emphasized that the sustainable development of global fintech requires concerted efforts from all stakeholders.

Xicheng will adhere to the 3C approach — confidence, courage and contribution — by collaborating with global fintech entrepreneurs and scholars to explore industry trends, seek opportunities, and cultivate an open, collaborative, and mutually beneficial fintech ecosystem.

According to the report, Beijing has topped the list of the world's top 10 fintech hub cities for 2025, owing to its prominent position in fintech industry scale, research investment and the extensive scale of its information technology sector.

Following Beijing are San Francisco (Silicon Valley), New York, London, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Paris. Notably, Hong Kong has climbed one spot, while Paris made its debut in the top 10, replacing Sydney.

The report notes that the global fintech industry is stabilizing, with an increased number of Chinese companies making the list. In this context, the report introduced new research on China's fintech industry clusters for the first time, identifying five trends.

In terms of industry distribution, it is gradually extending from first-tier cities to regional centers, showcasing a pattern of multicentric development.

Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen form the first tier of fintech industrial clusters, leading with their mature industry base and resource advantages. Meanwhile, second-tier cities like Chengdu and Nanjing are catching up.

Regarding innovation vitality, cities such as Hangzhou and Zhuhai have seen the number of high-potential companies surpass some traditional strongholds, demonstrating robust development momentum.

Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hangzhou have become core engines for industry innovation.

The distribution map of national university fintech laboratories shows that cities like Beijing and Shanghai have become stable talent supply hubs.

The integration of artificial intelligence and fintech laboratories with industrial parks promotes the flow of innovation resources to the industry, providing talent and technological support for industry upgrades.

The rise of the building economy is reshaping the industry ecosystem. Over the past decade, 27 fintech industry clusters in 15 cities have gradually developed and grown nationwide.

The thriving building economy optimizes industry layouts and propels it toward a new stage of scale and intensification, a sign of high-quality development.

In terms of operational models, a new pattern of enterprise-led, government-enabled cooperation is emerging. Governments are assisting the transition of parks from traditional space operators to ecosystem organizers by participating in various ways, such as regulatory sandboxes and fund guidance, creating a favorable environment for industry development.

Moreover, the report features many "firsts", such as releasing the top 50 potential Chinese fintech enterprises of 2025, mapping the national fintech industry, and proposing the establishment of the FinTech Park 20 Alliance to build a new global development ecosystem.

For example, the national fintech industry map achieved comprehensive coverage of 27 industry clusters in 15 cities for the first time, providing a benchmark for regional coordinated development. Among them, 10 cities made the 2025 global top 50 fintech cities list, highlighting China's competitive edge in the industry.

Among the numerous industry clusters, three stand out by demonstrating exemplary development models. For instance, the Beijing Fin-Tech and Professional Service Innovation Demonstration Zone achieved industry optimization and upgrading during spatial relocation.

It has become a globally competitive benchmark area with its leading industry layout and innovative capacity.