Suburban Songjiang District diversifies its economy for the future

An innovation-driven, service-oriented, open, headquarters-dominated and flux-led economy is providing Songjiang District with high-quality development.

A recent forum held in the suburban district on high-quality economic development showed that its fiscal revenue from January to September amounted to 22.538 billion yuan (US$3.52 billion), ranking third among districts citywide and up 20.1 percent from last year. The district has reported positive growth for 70 consecutive months.

Its added value in the first half was 83.135 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 13.4 percent. Its industrial output from medium- and large-sized companies between January and September reached over 317 billion yuan, ranking second among districts citywide and up 8.7 percent from last year.

Its import and export volume in the first nine months of this year was 213.4 billion yuan, up 12.4 percent year on year, and its contracted foreign capital and paid-in investment during the same period were US$2.019 billion and US$572 million, up 121.1 percent and 121.4 percent respectively.

The encouraging result has marked a great beginning of the implementation of the district's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), following the achievement of the goals of the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20). The results have been bolstered by the regional G60 High-Tech Corridor vision that emphasizes innovative development for science and technology and reform on system.

A large group of Songjiang companies, practitioners of the "Five-Type Economy," have in particular made remarkable contributions to the economic achievement.

The Five-Type Economy, a phrase meaning an innovation-driven, service-oriented, open, headquarters-dominated and flux-led economy, was for the first time included in Shanghai's government work report in this year's Shanghai "Two Sessions."

The Five-Type Economy highlights features and advantages of Shanghai's economy. It supports the city's vision of becoming a global resource allocator, science and technology innovation planner, high-end industrial development initiator, and a hub of open economies and markets and resource flow, according to the government work report.

The Five-Type Economy also describes Songjiang's economic strengths and advantages.

Regarding innovation as its essential impetus, the district is building up an innovative economy that is generating successful breakthroughs. While companies like Tencent, AST, Haohai Biological Technology and Shangshi Energy are thriving in Songjiang, a digital economy industrial cluster is also forming in the district, with more than 400 companies opened, falling into categories like industrial Internet, artificial intelligence, satellite Internet, and information technology innovation and application.

Key sci-tech platforms like G60 Brain Intelligence S&T Innovation Base and the Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have been set up in the district. Fruitful sci-tech achievements like AST large silicon wafers, ALD PV machine tools and Tp1200 turboprop engines have been reached.

A service-oriented economy benefits industrial upgrading and innovation. Songjiang has an expanding service industry with its structure constantly optimizing. While information technology services, science technology services, financial services and cultural innovation sectors are developing rapidly, the online economy and SOHO economy are beginning to drive economic growth.

High-end service projects like the Tencent Yangtze River Delta Supercomputing Center and the Commercial Cryptography Testing Center of Shanghai are coming to the district. This year, Songjiang has been listed among the country's first batch of the integrated development zones in the advanced manufacturing and modern service sectors.

As one of Shanghai's earliest districts in introducing foreign capital, Songjiang boasts an outward economy. By the end of September, the district had attracted 6,475 foreign-invested companies, including over 50 Fortune Global 500 companies. In a recent evaluation report released by the General Administration of Customs, the Songjiang Comprehensive Bonded Zone was listed among the nation's top four and top two in eastern China in terms of overall performance in 2020.

Benefitting from its role as the initiating city of the G60 High-Tech Corridor vision and an improving business environment, Songjiang is also building up a strong headquarters economy. So far the district has accumulated 16 multinational headquarters, two trade headquarters, nine city-level headquarters of private companies and 48 district-level headquarters of private businesses.

As people, goods, information and capital flows are constantly gathering here, the district is also cultivating a flux-led economy. It has nurtured a group of companies in various niche markets including Lily&Beauty, Lyfen and Mingpin Medical Data. Logistics projects, including the south China headquarters of SF-Express, are being launched in the district as well.

In its next step, the district, while firmly grasping a historic development opportunity combining its G60 High-Tech Corridor vision, Songjiang New City's construction and construction of the Songjiang transportation hub, will further develop and benefit from its Five-Type Economy.