Research On The Index For Beijing’s Construction Of International Exchange Center

The first chapter of "Beijing Urban Master Plan(2016-2035)”clarifies that Beijing’s strategic positioning is "Four Centers",namely the National Political Center,Cultural Center,International Exchange Center as well as Science and Technology Innovation Center.International Exchange Center is a new concept based on the new positioning and new requirements of Beijing’s urban development.It is different from the "World City" and is a new stage of urban internationalization.It is not derived from the diplomatic activities of individual countries nor the outward extension of the city itself,but rather the complex needs of urban,national and international entities.Politically,the International Exchange Center emphasizes consolidating and developing the international order and promoting global governance that is built and shared by all parties.Economically,the main role of the Center is to lead development and innovation.Culturally,the Center is a platform for mutual understanding and communication among civilizations.The construction of an international exchange center will ultimately be implemented according to an indicator system for it.A reasonable indicator system allows urban directors and builders to decompose the construction of such a center.The data concluding in the system can reflect the city’s progresses,weaknesses and advantages objectively and comprehensively.Therefore,it can be used for policy recommendations.In order to construct such an indicator,this paper first analyzes and compares several major international urban indexes,including general or growth city indexes such as the Global Power Cities Index(GPCI),the Global Cities Index(GCI)and the GaWC’s Study,the social welfare indexes such as Welfare Index(WI)and Quaity of Life Report(QOL),and sustainability city indexes such as the Green City Index(GrCI)and the City Prosperity Index(CPI).Through the analysis of these indexes,several inspirations are obtained.First of all,to build an indicator system,we must define the core concept at first,and then choose indexes and work out their weights.Secondly,on one hand,the specific indexes should be quantifiable and easy to measure.On the other hand,the results of the indicator system should be effective for relevant parties.Finally,Beijing ranks high in general or growth city indexes that emphasize city’s size and economic volume,but low in others that emphasize social welfare or sustainable development.In general,there is still a long way to go if Beijing were to catch up with New York and London.Through the analysis above,an index system that can measure the process of International Exchange Center was constructed.It included three dimensions:global governance,cooperative development and exchange of civilizations.Each dimension consists of two secondary indicators:intergovernmental diplomacy,non-governmental exchanges,economic cooperation,scientific development,city image and cultural exchange.The city image is further subdivided into three aspects:tourism,culture and quality of life.The whole indicator system consists of 33 positive indicators.Based on experts,opinions,this paper adopts a pairwise comparison method to determine the weight of each indicator.First of all,the three dimensions weigh the same,so as the six secondary indicators.Secondly,because there is no comparability between the indicators under different criteria,the pairwise comparison is only conducted among indicators under the same secondary indicator.International institutions and international talents are the originations of advanced and continuous international exchanges.Therefore,International institutions and international talents have always been the most important indicators,followed by international conferences and venues.