Mayor lays out economic vision for 2021, GDP to grow over 6%

SHANGHAI has set its goals for economic development in 2021, with the city’s gross domestic product expected to grow by more than 6 percent, according to the city’s Report on the Work of the Government.

“This is a year of special importance in the course of our country’s modernization,” Mayor Gong Zheng told the Fifth Session of the 15th Shanghai People’s Congress yesterday.

“We should guarantee sustained and sound economic development and a stable society to ensure a good start to the 14th Five-Year Plan and to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China.”

Gong proposed targets for this year’s economic development, aiming to post a 6 percent GDP growth.

Revenue in general budget is expected to rise 3 percent from last year, and overall expenditure on research and development will account for about 4.1 percent of GDP, he said.

Surveyed urban unemployment rates, meanwhile, are targeted at below 5 percent. The city also expects per capita disposable income to rise in tandem with economic growth, and inflation to be about 2.5 percent.

Gong noted the importance of advancing high-quality reform and opening up in the Pudong New Area and the “three new strategic tasks” on all fronts.

The city will focus on building a strategic link connecting the domestic loop with international markets, to actively serve and integrate into the new development pattern of “dual circulation.”

To boost connectivity, Shanghai will formulate a new three-year action plan on the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta.

It will also build a new platform for connecting international and domestic markets, continue to amplify the spillover effects of the China International Import Expo, and further implement the overall plan for building the Hongqiao area into an open international hub.

A national technological innovation center will be set up in the Yangtze River Delta to enhance the internal momentum of domestic circulation.

The city will focus on expanding domestic demand and demand-side management.

“We will accelerate the development of Shanghai as an international consumer center, implement the action plan on upgrading consumption, continue to launch promotion campaigns such as the Double Five Shopping Festival to boost consumption, and vigorously develop new types of consumption including online consumption, experiential consumption and health spending,” Gong told the session.

The city will accelerate the implementation of new policies on duty-free shops and build a number of smart shopping demonstration venues and commercial consumer experience centers.

Shanghai will also give full play to the high-quality development of Pudong’s reform and opening up, practically implementing a series of innovative and pioneer measures on expanding openness.

Pilot projects on comprehensive reform will be carried out, and market access reforms deepened such as the “one integrated license” policy.

The government will also explore the development of offshore yuan transactions, cross-border trade settlement and overseas financing services in Pudong.

Another highlight is to promote the city’s digital transformation and accelerate the construction of an international digital center with global influence.

Shanghai will further expedite the development of the online new economy and focus on key areas such as smart factories, industrial Internet and e-commerce platforms.

It plans to foster a cluster of newgeneration Internet industries, and establish a batch of online new economy ecological parks as well as pilot areas for innovative development of the digital economy.

One example: A number of infrastructure projects will be launched, setting up 8,000 outdoor 5G base stations.

This is a year of special importance in the course of our country’s modernization.

Gong Zheng Shanghai Mayor