Shanghai's global financial center pledge

Shanghai vows to further advance its construction as a global financial center by fully implementing the national financial development strategy, focusing on serving the real economy, deepening financial reform and preventing financial risks over the next five years.

It plans to enhance the capacity of financial service to the real economy, support and encourage the listing of more high-tech enterprises on the STAR Market by attracting more long-term capital, 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.

Financial institutions will be encouraged to provide offerings such as credit and financing advice to enterprises based on the development stage of tech firms.

And areas such as inclusive finance and green finance will also get more policy support, according to the proposal.

Over the next five years, Shanghai aims to build a center for yuan assets allocation and risk management. Direct financing will be further expanded and more corporate bonds will be issued. It will be committed to supporting innovations in the foreign exchange market and increasing the use of yuan in global foreign exchange transactions.

The development of basic derivatives markets such as inter-bank interest rates and foreign exchange will be promoted and relevant transaction convenience further improved.

The city aims to enhance the international influence of "Shanghai price" by boosting the wide application of "Shanghai Gold,” "Shanghai Oil" and "Shanghai Copper" in the international financial market.

Shanghai will accelerate the opening of its financial sector to the outside world and take measures to attract more qualified foreign capital to set up financial institutions in the city by creating a level playing ground for foreign funded companies.

While building itself into an international reinsurance center, the city will make efforts to develop international reinsurance business and enhance the ability of its reinsurance market to undertake global risks, and provide comprehensive protection offerings for overseas projects along the Belt and Road initiative.

Additionally, Shanghai will endeavor to become an asset management center with global influence. To enrich market players, it plans to attract world-renowned asset managers to set up regional headquarters in Shanghai, and gather private banks and family trusts to settle down in the city.

Effective ways of cross-border asset management will be explored in the Lingang New Area.

The city also has the goal of constructing itself into a financial technology center with global competitiveness. It will strengthen the research and development of technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence, block chain, cloud computing and 5G and push ahead the pilot use of digital yuan in the city.