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 last month.

“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.

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 new-generation 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

The Shanghai government has put forward an ambitious plan for the city’s development over the next five years for deliberation by the city’s legislators at the fifth session of the 15th Shanghai People’s Congress which opened last month.

New infrastructure and attractions, smart public services and a better living environment are among the government’s core promises to local residents.

“The city should face the globe and the future, and measure itself against the highest international standards and levels to push for high-quality development, create high-quality life and realize high-performance governance, never backing down on taking up the most difficult tasks and challenges,” the government said in its proposals.

Cultural & sports facilities

Over the next five years, Shanghai plans to add several key cultural facilities, including the East Branch of the Shanghai Library, the East Branch of the Shanghai Museum, the Shanghai Grand Opera House and the Shanghai Planetarium.

More “trendy 24/7 city hangouts of international styles and Shanghai flavors” are planned as the government vows to proactively develop the city’s backstreet and night economies.

The city will also build the

Legoland theme park in Jinshan District and WintaStar, an indoor ski resort, in Lingang in the Pudong New Area, while upgrading major resorts, including Sheshan, Dianshan Lake and Dongping Forest Park and the Shanghai International Resort.

It will also add several sports facilities, such as the Pudong Football Stadium, the Shanghai Bicycle Stadium in Chongming District, the Shanghai Juss International Equestrian Center in Pudong and the Xujiahui Sports Park, and attract the headquarters of international sports companies, associations and organizations.

The city plans to further open its riverside to residents over the period, with the full connection of the middle and northern parts of the Yangpu riverside, the southern extension of the Xuhui riverside and the southern extension of the Pudong riverside as priorities.

Public service

Shanghai will explore the possibility of introducing auxiliary artificial intelligence image diagnosis platforms, auxiliary diagnosis platforms serving general practitioners and remote medical consultation systems to residential communities.

To better serve elderly residents — or one-third of all permanent residents — the government will introduce more smart senior care devices linked to the Internet and develop smart senior care systems connecting sensors, smart devices and medical devices while compiling standards for smart senior care products and services.

The city will strive to make its online administrative services available to the public 24/7 and expand the usage of the Suishenma health code so that residents won’t have to carry various cards and certificates when seeking public services.

Transportation

It will also keep up the momentum of traffic infrastructure construction to further boost public transportation in the city and its connections with the rest of the Yangtze River Delta region.

Shanghai will add two Metro lines — Line 14 and phase 1 of Line 18 — in 2021.

Construction of five more lines — the western extension of Line 13, Line 19, phase 1 of Line 20, phase 1 of Line 21 and phase 1 of Line 23 — will be accelerated over the five years.

The western extension of Line 12 and the southern extension of Line 15 are in the planning stage.

Construction of the railway line between the city’s two international airports will be finished, while the JiadingMinhang Line and its northern extension and the railway line linking Lingang, Pudong International Airport and Shanghai East Railway Station will be constructed to better connect Lingang and Zhangjiang to the city’s traffic hubs.

Also in the planning are the Nanhui-Fengjing Line, the railway line linking Lingang and Fengjing town in Jinshan District, and the Shanghai-Pinghu Line, which will better connect the south of Shanghai and the area north of Hangzhou Bay.

By the end of 2025, people will be able to travel to neighboring cities from the central districts of Shanghai within 60 minutes, and to all other major cities of the Yangtze River Delta region from major traffic hubs in Shanghai within two hours, the government proposes.

By the end of 2025, the total length of Metro lines and intracity railways in Shanghai will reach 960 kilometers.

And at least 45 percent of people living in central districts are expected to travel by public transport.

The government also vows to accelerate projects to link the city’s pedestrian and bike lanes.

Environment

The city will make sure it will reach the peak of carbon emission before 2025, putting the emphasis on energy efficiency and carbon reduction in the electricity, steel and chemical industries.

By the end of 2025, the government aims to reduce coal’s contribution to primary energy consumption to 30 percent and to increase the percentage of natural gas consumption to 16 percent.

Renewable energy is expected to provide about 8 percent of all electricity used in Shanghai.

The city will further promote new-energy vehicles and strive to apply the technology to all new buses, taxis, street-cleaning vehicles, vehicles used in postal services and government vehicles by 2025.

Shanghai will also add 200,000 more car charging poles and 45 charging stations for taxis.

The recycling rate of household waste is expected to be over 45 percent and the goal set for 2021 is 40 percent.

And the government plans to make household waste sorting entirely traceable by 2025.

Livelihood

The number of parks in Shanghai will be increased to over 1,000. About 600 of them will be added in the next five years, including suburban parks, community parks, forest land parks and “pocket parks” in central districts.

The average life expectancy of local residents is expected to be over 84, up from the current 83.66.

Shanghai aims to become an “alluring city featuring innovation, humanity and ecology, as well as to be a socialistic metropolis with global influence” by 2035.