Shangyu bets on high-quality growth of manufacturing and expects Shanghai a part of it

Shangyu has made high-quality growth a target for its manufacturing sector. The town city in neighboring Zhejiang Province expects more collaboration with Shanghai, fostering greater strength to develop advanced manufacturing.

"Shangyu is making great efforts to develop emerging industries including new materials, high-end machinery and biomedicine. We are highly complementary with Shanghai's strategy, and can serve as one link in the production chain," said Sun Haiming, an official with the Shangyu government at a forum on Tuesday.

Shangyu is a star performer in manufacturing with its industrial output surpassing 217 billion yuan (US$31.6 billion) in 2022, up 12 percent on an annual basis. Located in the heart of the Hangzhou Bay area, it's just a two-hour drive from Shanghai, and Shanghai used to dispatch engineers on weekends to the town city, helping it develop its private manufacturing sector.

Shangyu is now home to a batch of high-quality industrial parks, including the national-level Hangzhou Bay Shangyu Economic and Technological Development Area and Zhangjiang Shangyu Cao-E-Jiang Economic Development Area.

It is also home to 836 manufacturing companies with annual income of more than 20 million yuan.

"We look forward to more interaction with Shanghai, optimizing the models that companies conduct research and development in Shanghai while manufacture in Shangyu, to make better use of the different strengths of each," Sun said.

Shangyu also welcomed quality foreign investment to help it further enhance its economic strength.

The forum is a part of the "Shangyu Week" in Shanghai, which aims to enhance Shangyu's cultural and business ties with Shanghai.