On December 29th, the Launch of 2021 Tianfu Financial Index and the Symposium on Financial Support for Small and Micro Businesses, hosted by the School of Finance, RUC, organized by the International Monetary Institute (IMI), and supported by Sichuan Financial Academy, Sichuan Provincial Bureau of Financial Work and Sichuan Tianfu Bank, were held online. This event consisted of the Launch of 2022 Tianfu Financial Index and the Symposium on Financial Support for Small and Micro Businesses (the Roundtable on Money and Finance·Winter 2022).

Du Peng, Vice President of Renmin University of China, Wang Yanci, Member of the Party Group and Secretary of the Party Committee of Sichuan Provincial Bureau of Financial Work, Liao Fenghua, Member of the Party Committee and Deputy Governor of Chengdu Branch of the People's Bank of China, Jiao Jinpu, Chairman of China National Gold Group Corporation, Huang Jinlao, Chairman of Jiangsu Suning Bank, He Qing, Professor, School of Finance, RUC and Director of Local Finance Research Office, IMI, Huang Jicheng, Associate Professor, School of Finance, RUC, and other experts and researchers from governments, universities and the financial sector attended the event and delivered speeches online. The RUC Tianfu Financial Index team, students and teachers from the School of Finance and representatives of member units of Sichuan Financial Academy also participated in the virtual conference moderated by Qian Zongxin, Associate Dean, School of Finance, RUC.

Professor He Qing released the 2022 Tianfu Financial Index Report. He pointed out that the RUC Tianfu Financial Index team has published the Tianfu Financial Index for six consecutive years in hope of strengthening mutual understanding of financial development among various central cities and thereby diversifying competition strategies and achieving coordinated development. Tianfu Financial Index takes into account both traditional and emerging industries in the financial sector, builds an index system in a scientific manner. The data is acquired and compiled in an open and transparent manner, which is replicable. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, questions like how to comprehensively use financial policy tools and continue to improve financial service so as to provide a strong financial support for scientific and technological innovation, economic stability and common prosperity have become new challenges in financial practices of various regions.

Overall, the 35 central cities have their own strengths in the 2022 Tianfu Financial Index. Some of them have achieved remarkable progress in financial development. They continue to improve the financial supply structure and optimize the financial service mode, better leveraging the role of finance in supporting the real economy. Specifically, Beijing remains the national center of financial management and Shanghai remains the international financial center. The financial sectors in Shenzhen and Guangzhou continue to face challenges. Chengdu has promoted the reform and innovation of green finance so as to improve the quality and efficiency of the sector. The fundamentals of finance in Hangzhou, Wuhan and Zhengzhou are stable and enjoy diversified competitive edges. The central and western regions have promoted financial development through reform and opening up. Haikou, Ningbo and Xiamen have taken multiple measures to boost financial development.