The 36th International Business Leaders' Advisory Council for the Mayor (IBLAC) kicks off in Shanghai on September 22, 2024. Photo: VCG

The 36th International Business Leaders' Advisory Council for the Mayor (IBLAC) kicked off in Shanghai on Sunday, bringing together top executives from more than 30 leading multinationals to exchange global practices and insights in support of the metropolis' innovative growth and uncover investment opportunities in its vibrant market.

The theme of this year's IBLAC is leading paradigm transformation, and expanding opening-up and cooperation to advance Shanghai's international sci-tech innovation center initiative in the New Era, coinciding with the initiative's 10th anniversary. 

In his opening speech on Sunday, Chen Jining, secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, emphasized the need to boost technological innovation as a driving force of Shanghai's growth, pledging to expand international cooperation and actively integrate into the global innovation network.

Severin Schwan, chairman of IBLAC and chairman of the board of directors of Roche Group, said ahead of the event that this year's IBLAC would discuss how to cooperate in driving innovation and creating an ecosystem of mutual exchange and win-win cooperation, local media outlet Shanghai Observer reported on Sunday.

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng pledged during a meeting with Schwan on Friday to further relax market access, including for biopharmaceuticals, the Xinhua reported.

Shanghai, as China's frontrunner for reform and opening-up, has shifted from high-speed growth to high-quality development over the decade, a milestone in its journey to become a pivotal player in global innovation, experts said.

Chen highlighted on Saturday Shanghai's commitment to creating a top-tier, market-driven business environment for supporting the growth of foreign firms, and encouraged them to ramp up investments and optimize operations in sectors such as finance, high-end manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and healthcare.

"Shanghai offers a good and healthy environment for healthcare companies, backed by a solid industrial base," Gary S. Guthart, CEO and board member of US-based medical technology company Intuitive Surgical, said on Saturday ahead of the meeting.

He noted that the promising future of the firm's development in Shanghai is based on three interrelated elements: great staff, forward-thinking customers and forward-thinking authorities, according to a post on the local government's website.

Shanghai's allure for foreign enterprises showcases the immense potential of the Chinese market amid the nation's unwavering push for high-level opening-up, Bian Yongzu, executive deputy editor-in-chief of Modernization of Management magazine, told the Global Times on Sunday. 

"Emerging sectors like biomedicine, artificial intelligence, and green energy play a crucial role in advancing Shanghai's innovative growth and China's high-level opening-up, which is why the IBLAC highly focused on the growth of new quality productive forces," Bian noted.