Shanghai eyes tech to drive development

To significantly improve Shanghai's urban capacity and core competitiveness during the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period, the city will step up efforts to nurture new growth engines, expand development space and improve living standards, officials said on Wednesday.

Shanghai aims to achieve an annual average GDP growth rate of about 5 percent over the next five years and to double its per capita GDP in 2035 from the 2020 level of more than $23,000. More investment will be directed toward technological innovation, industrial upgrading, urban renewal and public well-being efforts, Vice-Mayor Wu Wei said at a news conference on Wednesday.

Wu said Shanghai's development strategy will be centered around building a modern industrial system.

The system will include the digital transformation of traditional industries and a broad green transition. It will focus on three pioneering industries — integrated circuits, artificial intelligence and biomedicine — as well as six emerging industrial clusters, including next-generation information technology, and early deployment in future-oriented sectors such as energy and new materials.

"Efforts will be intensified to promote original innovation and achieve breakthroughs in key technologies. By 2030, spending on basic research is expected to account for about 15 percent of total social research and development expenditure," said Luo Dajin, director of the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality.

To support these goals, Shanghai will increase investment in basic research and core technologies and expand new infrastructure, including the Shanghai hub for the national blockchain network.

According to Gu Jun, director of the Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission, equal emphasis will be placed on talent development, with the city aiming to cultivate an additional 300,000 highly skilled professionals by 2030.

Shanghai will further strengthen its competitive advantages in trade and finance amid ongoing reform and opening-up. The city aims to reach an annual container throughput of 58 million TEUs by 2030. It plans to attract a number of world-leading supply chain management centers and enhance its capacity to allocate global commodity resources, which Wu said will help optimize the city's trade structure.

Shanghai's financial market is also expected to become more internationalized over the next five years. More financial products accessible to international investors will be introduced to enhance the city's global pricing influence. Additional leading international asset managers, insurers and financial institutions will be encouraged to establish operations in Shanghai. The city will also explore the development of offshore financial mechanisms and related regulatory frameworks, said Zhou Xiaoquan, executive deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Finance.

In building a new development space, Shanghai's five-year plan includes a dedicated section on the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region. Wu said coordination in technological and industrial innovation, as well as regulatory mechanisms, will be strengthened. Leading enterprises will be encouraged to play a greater role, while cities in the region will leverage their respective strengths. Infrastructure connectivity across the region will also be enhanced, he added.

Within Shanghai, land and space resources will be moderately prioritized for early deployment of new infrastructure, including computing, telecommunications and low-altitude facilities. Urban rail transit coverage in central areas will be expanded, with the total operating mileage of urban and suburban rail lines expected to exceed 1,260 kilometers by 2030.

The city will also renovate another 30 million square meters of aging residential compounds and launch a new round of park construction, officials said.

To further improve public wellbeing, Shanghai will make employment, housing, education, healthcare and child care services more inclusive. Efforts will also be made to build a resilient and safe megacity and to ensure that carbon emissions peak before 2030, said Wu.