Pudong New Area, which has become the reform and opening-up showpiece in Shanghai, is set to make firm steps toward implementing the central government's blueprint for the area.

Looking back at the past five years in Pudong, November 12, 2020 marked a highlight moment when the area celebrated its 30th anniversary of development and opening-up at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center on the eastern bank of the Huangpu River.

Through 30 years of development, Pudong, an area accounting for 1/8000 of the country's land area, has 1/80 of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and 1/15 of the country's total imports and exports.

Enhanced by the remarkable achievements, Pudong has been given a new historical position and mission.

Last year, the Communist Party of China Central Committee and China's State Council released a guideline on July 15 to build Pudong into a pioneer area for socialist modernization, drawing up a grand blueprint for the future development of Pudong. Pudong is expected to lead China's higher level of reform and opening-up and serve as a strategic link between domestic and international markets, according to the guideline.

The next five years will be a critical period for building up the pioneer area. Pudong will strive to promote high-level reform and opening-up to stand at the forefront of the times, achieve remarkable results in high-quality development, optimize co-construction and high-quality living standards, and becoming a leader in high-efficiency governance.

Over the next five years, Pudong has set a goal of raising its total economic output to 2 trillion yuan ($289.36 billion), with the per capita GDP and per capita disposable income exceeding 300,000 yuan and 100,000 yuan, respectively, and comprehensively enhancing urban soft power.

Pudong has begun its efforts to become a pioneer area for socialist modernization in an all-round way. It will seize the opportunity and take advantage of the momentum to courageously take on the heaviest task of creating new miracles.

New journey, new act

High-level reform and opening-up – the "Pudong Experience" that can be replicated and promoted

Following the release of the guideline to build Pudong into a pioneer area for socialist modernization, Pudong has gone all out to continuously promote reform and opening-up.

The construction of the Lin-gang Special Area in Pudong has accelerated, completed 90 percent of the tasks specified in the State Council’s overall plan, and an open institutional framework has been formed.

At the same time, Pudong has picked up its pace to expand opening-up. The construction and upgrading of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone has been accelerated, and more than 300 important reform achievements and 51 examples of the "Pudong Experience" have been replicated and promoted nationwide. Pudong also became the first to pilot the negative list management model for cross-border service trade.

In light of the whole chain of industrial development and the whole life cycle of enterprises’ development, Pudong was also required to strengthen the integration of reforms in different areas. It will focus on reform moves that play a fundamental role and act as engines of progress, and pioneer taking a coordinated approach in promoting reforms.

Last year, the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress passed a decision making the city's congress and its standing committee able to create laws specific to Pudong as part of efforts to promote high-level reform and opening-up of the district.

Since then, a number of regulations have been successively promulgated, which laid a legal foundation for Pudong to amplify the comprehensive effect of reforms and create a first-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based and internationalized.

The State Council has given the nod to a pilot "one integrated license" in Pudong. The "one integrated license" can significantly reduce the cost of industry access and foster a world-class business environment. A total of 31 sectors in Pudong including e-commerce, construction, convenience stores, cafeterias, cinemas, gyms and bookstores have benefited from the integrated license reform, which merges multiple licenses into one for market access.       

Pudong is striving to expand opening-up on the institutional level in terms of rules, regulations, management, and standards. It is expected to provide high-level institutions, high-quality products, and efficient capital supply to better cooperate and compete internationally.   

At the end of 2021, China’s State Council approved a pilot project to open some ports for foreign vessels to operate coastal shipping routes in the Lin-gang Special Area. On May 31, Danish shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk made history by being the first foreign carrier to engage in a coastal relay of international cargo in the Lin-gang Special Area. Industry experts said it is an important breakthrough in the opening-up of China's international shipping sector, which is expected to help the Lin-gang Special Area better play its role as an "experimental field", and further demonstrate China's determination and confidence in opening up to the outside world.

High-quality development - building a world-class industrial cluster

In Pudong’s Zhangjiang Science City, six major hardcore industries are picking up steam. In 2021, the total output value of industries above designated size in Zhangjiang reached 342.48 billion yuan, accounting for 27.5 percent of Pudong's total and its total revenue exceeded 1 trillion yuan for the first time, a year-on-year increase of 22.6 percent.

In terms of the integrated circuit industry, seven of the world’s top 10 chip design companies have established their regional headquarters and R&D centers in Zhangjiang. Two of the world’s top five foundry companies have established their headquarters in Zhangjiang, and six of the world’s top 10 equipment companies have established their regional headquarters and R&D centers there.

Zhangjiang boasts the most complete innovation chain and industrial chain in China. In 2021, the scale of Zhangjiang's biopharmaceutical industry reached 65.82 billion yuan, accounting for about 26 percent of the city's total.

There is also a whole chain of independent research and development for developing artificial intelligence hardware and applying it. As one of the first artificial intelligence application scenarios in Shanghai, Zhangjiang Artificial Intelligence Island has gathered more than 100 enterprises.

The progress Zhangjiang has made is also a portrayal of Pudong's high-quality development. In the past five years, the GDP of Pudong has increased from 954.76 billion yuan to about 1.54 trillion yuan, its per capita GDP has increased to 270,000 yuan, and the total scale of its six major hardcore industries has exceeded 1 trillion yuan.

Pudong is making every effort to speed up economic recovery and revitalization after the recent COVID-19 outbreak.

On June 17, a contract signing ceremony was held in the Waigaoqiao area. Lumenis, the world's largest medical laser equipment company headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel and the only laser company in the world certified by the International Organization for Standardization, announced that it will set up a laser technology innovation base with a construction area of about 3,000 square meters in Waigaoqiao. The base is expected to have a registered capital of 10 million yuan, an investment of 40 million yuan for construction, and an annual output value of about 500 million yuan after completion.

"Despite the recent COVID-19 outbreak, we have strengthened our confidence. We will not only advance the laser technology innovation base but also continue to add new investment projects there," said Zhai Qiying, senior president of Lumenis Asia.

The headquarters economy is an important driving force for the high-quality development of cities. The latest data showed that as of May this year, the number of regional headquarters of multinational companies in Pudong reached 398, accounting for 46.93 percent of the city's total. As of January, there were 256 foreign R&D centers in Pudong, accounting for 50.29 percent of the city's total.

These projects showed that enterprises still have full confidence in Pudong. In the next five years, Pudong plans to accelerate the creation of a world-class industrial cluster, and continue to promote the three leading industries of integrated circuits, biomedicine and artificial intelligence to further develop the industrial scale, energy level and technological level.

Efficient governance - leaving the best resources to the people

Pudong has established Pudong Art Museum, a high-level public art space, adjacent to the Oriental Pearl in the Lujiazui area. The Shanghai Planetarium and the new Pudong Mass Culture and Art Center have also been built and put into use, along with the world's tallest bookstore, the most beautiful subway station, the most fashionable library, and a variety of splendid cultural events.

In the future, a number of major cultural facilities such as the east branch of the Shanghai Library, the east branch of the Shanghai Museum, and the Shanghai Grand Opera House are expected to become new fascinating landmarks in Pudong.

With a commitment of leaving the best resources to the people - Pudong has implemented the important concept of the "people's city" with practical actions, and strives to always put delivering a better life to the people first to enable people to feel a sense of fulfillment, happiness and security.    

In order to explore a new way of social governance in megacities, Pudong took the lead in building a comprehensive and intelligent command platform of the "city brain" with full coverage. Through continuous iterative upgrades, the platform not only realized cross-domain, cross-level, and cross-department management, but also completely opened up the links involving the economy, society and urban governance.

This year, Pudong established a leading group for urban digital transformation, and the Pudong Urban Transport Center took the lead in taking charge of a special group for digital governance to continuously promote the practicality of "unified online management". As a result, Pudong's "city brain" has a new goal of better perception, integration and response, to promote coordination and accelerate the construction of a scientific, authoritative, and efficient emergency management system.

By leveraging digital transformation, Pudong plans to continue to promote innovation in governance methods, governance models, and governance concepts, and improve the effectiveness of urban governance.

The area is striving to show a new look and create new miracles. By 2035, Pudong expects to see its modernized economy comprehensively established, modern urban district built, modernized governance fully realized, and its urban development level and international competitiveness at the forefront globally.

By 2050, Pudong is expected to become an important urban area which is highly attractive, creative, competitive and influential globally, a global model of urban governance, and a "shining pearl" of a great modern socialist country.

New achievements, new atmosphere

Pudong, a hot spot for development, will make every effort to pioneer higher-level reform and opening-up, focus on expanding opening-up on the institutional level in terms of rules, regulations, management, and standards, and be more active in cooperating and competing internationally.

It expects to strengthen the integration of reforms, further deepen reforms to streamline administration and delegate power, improve regulation and upgrade services, establish and improve the comprehensive licensing and comprehensive supervision system of the industry, and stimulate the vitality of the market with greater efforts. More reform moves that play a fundamental role and act as engines of progress will also be implemented in the area. 

Pudong will also make every effort to create a benchmark for independent innovation and development in the new era, and become a hub for scientific and technological innovation and high-end industries.

It plans to layout and construct more major scientific and technological infrastructures, improve the innovation service systems, and connect basic research, applied research and industrialization.

It also plans to promote the construction of more than 100 open innovation centers at large enterprises, and empower more than 5,000 high-quality innovative enterprises. Efforts will also be made to accelerate the creation of world-class industrial clusters, and promote the three leading industries of integrated circuits, biomedicine and artificial intelligence to further develop the industrial scale, energy level and technical level, and comprehensively develop hardcore industries such as aerospace, intelligent networked vehicles, and high-end equipment.    

Pudong will strive to become a hub for global resource allocation and create a more open financial market system, speed up the construction of a number of important functional platforms. The Pudong comprehensive transportation hub goal of becoming a world-class comprehensive transportation hub that combines river, sea, land, air and rail transport, is expected to serve as a platform, channel and springboard for gathering global resource elements.    

Pudong plans to take the lead in expanding domestic demand, implement a global consumer brand agglomeration plan to attract more domestic and well-known foreign business entities, create a stage to promote the debut of new products, accelerate the construction of a world-class comprehensive business district, and become an international consumption center with global influence, competitiveness and reputation.

More efforts will be made to improve modern urban governance by accelerating the construction of high-quality modern urban areas, boost the development of key areas, and build a demonstration area for industry-city integration, scientific and technological innovation and new infrastructures.

The area also plans to comprehensively promote rural construction, form beautiful villages with a pleasing ecological environment, and become the best practitioner of the important concept of the “people's city”.

With the steady deepening of the construction of the pioneer area for socialist modernization, Pudong will elevate its status from Shanghai's Pudong to China's Pudong, and then to the world's Pudong, from the Huangpu River to the Yangtze River, and then to the Pacific Ocean.