City sets targets for economic development over the next five years

Shanghai is to place further emphasis on expanding opening up, and boosting digital transformation during the period of China's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025).

The city set the targets for its economic development over the next five years, aiming to post overall GDP growth on par with the national pace, according to its proposals for the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for the city's economic and social development and its long-term vision through 2035. This was released on Sunday at the Fifth Session of the 15th Shanghai People's Congress on Sunday. 

It aims to accelerate the gathering of global high-end resources, enhance the international influence of factor markets, and post a total transaction volume on financial markets reaching 2,800 trillion yuan.

Expenditure on research and development in the whole society is expected to be equivalent to 4.5 percent of the city’s GDP, with major breakthroughs being made in tackling key technical problems.

The city also targeted stronger advantages in the functions of an open hub, and new breakthroughs in the construction of a higher-level open economic system, with the total number of regional headquarters of multinational companies in Shanghai topping 1,000 cumulatively.

The Pudong New Area is expected to make significant progress in building a pioneer area for socialist modernization development. The new Lingang area of pilot free trade zone will post an overall output quadrupling that in 2018 as estimated.

Shanghai will strengthen the financial sector to better serve the real economy. 

It will establish a financial service system that supports independent innovation in science and technology, give full play to the role of new mechanisms of the STAR Market on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, support and encourage more high-tech enterprises to go public, and lure more long-term capital into the market.

Meanwhile, an RMB financial asset allocation and risk management center will be set up, according to the proposals. 

The city also plans to develop direct financing, strengthen the function of the capital market as a hub, and optimize the mechanisms of information disclosure, issuance and de-listing.

In terms of foreign trade, Shanghai pledged to improve the functions of an international trade center, building an import and export commodity distribution center which connects the Yangtze River Delta, serves the country, and has a spillover effect on Asia-Pacific regions.

In addition, development of high-end industries, especially the three key areas of integrated circuits, bio-medicine and artificial intelligence, will remain among the city's top priorities.

The proposals also highlighted urban digital transformation, with the aim to build an international digital center with global influence.

The city will boost in-depth integration of online services and offline experience, use popular online platforms to give impetus to traditional commerce, and encourage traditional business enterprises to transform into full-channel operators, supply chain service providers and new retail enterprises. 

More support will be offered to the development of digital creative industries, such as eSports, online audio-visual services and Internet content communities, as well as the establishment of an original digital content ecosystem.