Visitors take a selfie with the landmark Oriental Pearl TV Tower in the background in Shanghai on Thursday. Photo: VCG

 

Shanghai is looking to further raise its global profile, as the city moves to solidify its business structure, develop its services sector and manufacturing industry, and transform itself into a hub of international commerce, trade, finance and shipping, a top Shanghai official said on Tuesday.

Shanghai, one of the largest cities in China with a population of around 24.18 million, has reached a high level of opening-up and internationalization, as it has the largest number of headquarters of foreign institutions and companies in the Chinese mainland, Mayor Ying Yong told a conference held at the State Council Information Office on Tuesday.

Ying said the number of foreign companies in Shanghai stood at more than 50,000 last year, including 677 headquarters and 444 foreign development and research centers. In addition, Shanghai has accumulated $24.04 billion of foreign capital since the start of the reform and opening-up in 1978.

Tesla became a recent addition to Shanghai's foreign manufacturing sector. Tesla's factory has now started to install production facilities, and production is expected to start at the end of the year with a capacity of about 3,000 vehicles per week, said Ma Chunlei, head of the Shanghai Development and Reform Commission.

Apart from the manufacturing industry, Shanghai is also actively opening up its financial market. Shanghai is ranked No.5 among all the international financial centers according to the 25th edition of the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI 25), but with more opening-up plans, the city can climb up further the ranking.

Dong Dengxin, director of the Finance and Securities Institute at Wuhan University, told the Global Times Tuesday that Shanghai can be one of the first cities to enjoy the fruits of the recent opening-up in the financial area.

"Shanghai has been enjoying the benefits of opening-up and international trade since 1978, and it has witnessed tremendous transformation," Dong said. 

"Now, the Shanghai Stock Exchange is making further plans to open up its financial area, which might in the future welcome foreign companies not just to do business in China, but also be listed in China, for example," he said.

Shanghai's efforts have increased its GDP by 900-fold over the past 70 years, reaching the income level of upper-middle developed countries, and per capita GDP has jumped to more than $20,000, Ying said at the conference.