The Oriental Pearl Tower is pictured alongside blooming cherry blossoms in Lujiazui of Pudong New Area, east China's Shanghai, April 1, 2019. (Photo:Xinhua)

Chinese financial centers have shown growing competitiveness globally as five cities rank among the top 20 global financial centers.

Of the five cities, Shanghai overtook Singapore, ranking fourth in the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI), while Guangzhou climbed four places to 19th and Hong Kong fell three places to 6th. Beijing stays at 7th and Shenzhen slipped from 9th to 11th. 

Chinese financial centers' rising statuses in the global market are supported by China's sound and stable economy, Liu Xuezhi, a senior researcher at the Bank of Communications, told the Global Times on Friday. China's GDP per capita stood at 70,892 yuan ($10,276) in 2019, surpassing the significant $10,000 mark.

The survey also includes a fintech ranking, with Chinese cities Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Guangzhou accounting for five of the top 10 fintech centers.

"Financial technology's rapid development in cities like Beijing and Shanghai has helped raise their financial positions in the global market," Liu noted. 

For instance, China established its science and technology innovation board in June of 2019 in Shanghai, a mark of the country's much-anticipated capital market reform, said Liu.

Although Hong Kong's position as a global financial center fell several places in the GFCI rankings, the city is suffering only a short-term decline, Liu said, adding that the Greater Bay Area will help reinforce Hong Kong's role as an international financial center.

The 27th edition of the GFCI was released on Thursday by the China Development Institute in Shenzhen and Z/Yen Partners in London, providing evaluations of competitiveness and rankings for 108 financial centers globally. 

New York has retained its first-place ranking, London is in second place, and Tokyo stands in third.

Rankings are determined based on a combined score of five main factors: business environment, human capital, infrastructure, financial sector development and reputation.