Shanghai reviews progress ahead of congress

Ahead of the 12th Communist Party of China Shanghai Congress, the government has detailed the city's achievements over the past five years, from creating a more open economy with pilot free trade zones and the STAR Market to holding world-leading events such as the China International Import Expo.

The government also released the agenda of the 12th CPC Shanghai Congress that will be held from Saturday till next Monday. The congress is held once every five years.

The total output of industrial enterprises above designated size－those with annual main business revenue of 20 million yuan ($2.97 million) or above－in Shanghai's Lingang Special Area of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, hit 264.2 billion yuan last year, a year-on-year increase of 72.7 percent, official data showed.

"The city has implemented a raft of favorable policies for furthering opening-up," Zhuge Yujie, deputy secretary of the CPC Shanghai Committee, said at a news conference on Wednesday.

The fixed-asset investment in the area reached 101.1 billion yuan, up 62 percent from 2020.

Developing FTZs has been one of the vital pillars in Shanghai to building a high-level open economy in the past five years, said the top official.

In the financial sector, the Shanghai Stock Exchange's STAR Market established in the city in 2018 has facilitated the connection between financial capital and innovation resources nationwide.

"The adoption of a registration-based initial public offering mechanism in the city has also been a major driving force for the institutional innovation of the capital market nationwide," Zhuge said.

As of last year, 377 companies have listed on the STAR Market in the city, with total financing exceeding 500 billion yuan.

The integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta has also been critical in strengthening collaboration and maximizing advantages among Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces in the past.

"The collaborations have made exemplary achievements in multiple fields, including infrastructure connectivity, ecological environment co-governance and the sharing of public services," he added.

The China International Import Expo, an annual trade fair held in November in the city since 2018, has grown into a platform to foster business cooperation.

The fourth CIIE held last year saw $70.7 billion worth of deal intentions sealed. That compares with $57.8 billion in the first session in 2018, official data revealed.

"The expo has produced a strong spillover effect to turn international exhibits into merchandise, exhibitors into investors and buyers into traders," Zhuge said.

The draft report of the 11th CPC Shanghai Committee will be released, reviewed and revised by representative Party members at the forthcoming congress. According to Zhuge, it will cover a summary of the committee's work in the past five years, goals and missions set for the next five years, as well as key objectives by 2035 and 2050.

In addition, members of the 12th CPC Shanghai Committee and Shanghai representatives to attend the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China to be held in Beijing this year will be elected during the local congress.