Evolution of intercity network shaped by global expansion of Chinese financial enterprises

With the deepening of the strategy of opening up to the outside world, Chinese financial enterprises have accelerated the pace of entering global markets and continuously improved their global strategic layout. Financial enterprises provide financial support for the global expansion of other industries by setting up global branches, which drives international business exchanges and capital flows, resulting in a network of intercity connections. Based on the analysis method of urban network, this research took the temporal and spatial evolution of the global layout of Chinese financial enterprises as an entry point, and explored the shaping process of the intercity network connecting global cities by Chinese financial enterprises from 1979 to 2019. The study found that: 1) The global expansion of Chinese financial enterprises went through different stages and showed regional characteristics. 2) With the increase in the number and expansion scope of global branches, the Asia-Pacific region, offshore financial centers, and major financial centers in Europe and the United States have become important node areas in the network and the expansion extended from major world cities to small and medium-sized cities around the world. 3) Intercity connections are mainly shaped by three types of expansion models of financial enterprises, namely headquarters-branch, headquarters-regional center-branch, and acquisition expansion. Finally, the study analyzed the influence of national economic strategy, geographical relationship, enterprise attribute, and node region characteristics on the expansion path of enterprises and the formation of intercity connections, and provides scientific reference for the global expansion of financial enterprises and the construction of international financial center cities.