Shanghai economy set to grow 5% year-on-year in 2025, mayor says

Zhu Yuting
Shanghai's GDP is projected to enter a new phase exceeding 5 trillion yuan (US$682 billion) in 2024, according to a work report released at the 16th Shanghai People's Congress.
Zhu Yuting

Shot by Dong Jun. Edited by Dong Jun. Reported by Zhu Yuting. Subtitles by Zhu Yuting.

Shanghai's economy is expected to grow at a year-on-year rate of about 5 percent in 2024, ushering in a brand new era of 5 trillion yuan (US$682 billion), Mayor Gong Zheng said today.

And it is expected to grow at the same rate in 2025, Gong said while delivering a government work report as the annual session of the city legislature, the Shanghai People's Congress, kicked off.

Deputies will discuss the work report during the four-day session, which will conclude on Saturday, and deliver suggestions to the government concerning policy-making.

Gong said Shanghai Port achieved a container throughput of 51.506 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) last year, ranking first in the world for 15 consecutive years and becoming the first international port with an annual throughput exceeding 50 million TEUs.

Shanghai economy set to grow 5% year-on-year in 2025, mayor says
Dong Jun / SHINE

The third session of the 16th Shanghai People's Congress (SPC), the city legislature, opens on Wednesday.

The air cargo and passenger throughput of Shanghai airports reached 4.206 million tons and 125 million, respectively, ranking second and third in the world.

In the past year, Shanghai has recognized 60 new headquarters of multinational corporations and 30 new foreign-invested research and development centers, bringing the total to 1,016 HQs and 591 R&D centers, respectively, according to the report.

In addition, the scale of the city's three leading industries – integrated circuits, biomedicine, and artificial intelligence – has reached 1.8 trillion yuan.

Gong said that Shanghai has continued to become a more livable city and has made every effort to improve people's livelihoods.

In 2024, the city added 4,385 beds for elderly care, established 39 community canteens for the elderly, increased 5,155 new kindergarten spots for toddler care, and provided 9,034 new community spots for childcare services.

About 3,000 more beds for elderly care will be added in 2025, and 30 more canteens for the elderly will be built as well.

Shanghai economy set to grow 5% year-on-year in 2025, mayor says
Dong Jun / SHINE

Expatriates attend the annual session.

Furthermore, 141 new parks opened in the city in 2024, bringing the total to 973. Among them, 849 parks are open 24 hours a day, accounting for 87.3 percent.

And in 2025, Shanghai plans to open 120 new parks, construct 130 kilometers of new greenways, and expand green spaces by 1,000 hectares. The city will keep promoting the 24-hour opening of parks, according to the mayor.

In 2024, the city completed the construction of the Shanghai Suburban Railway's Airport Link Line, along with the western extension of Metro Line 17, bringing the city's railway network to nearly 900km.

Also, the first national public employment service regional center was set up in Shanghai last year, where 871,000 times of subsidized vocational skills training were carried out, and 622,000 new jobs were added in urban areas.

In 2025, Shanghai will improve support for individual job seekers and create over 600,000 new jobs, the government work report said.


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