It is the Chinese who have endowed the term “financial center” with such weight and meaning by trying to dissect the functions of such cities and quantify every detail. As a result, politicians are prepared to pick a city and order it to create the functions of a financial center, as if such a thing can be constructed like a building – a concept that could not be more off the mark.
金融的发展史、城市的演变以及现代经济学都不能提供明确的答案。但金融中心这个词变成今天如此的份量和含义，是中国人自己的产物。我们试图把金融中心的功能拆开来，并且把每一个细节都量化。结果，政客们就选择一个城市并且命令它建造金融中心的功能，好像是这样一个东西可以当作建筑来建设。这是一个错得没谱的概念。