As a pioneer in socialist modernization and a fertile ground for enterprises, innovators, and talents, Pudong New Area in Shanghai is stimulating market vitality, focusing on key industries to attract more investment, as well as blazing new trails for further development.

April 18 marks the 33rd anniversary for Pudong's development and opening-up.

Over the past year, Pudong has accelerated the implementation of the guideline jointly issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council in July 2021, which supports the high-level reform and opening-up of Pudong and aims to build Pudong into a leading area for China's socialist modernization.

Pudong has also made big progress in advancing its 450 annual tasks, of which 409 have been completed or basically completed with landmark achievements.

Deepening reforms to delegate power, streamline administration, and optimize government services

Adhering to reforms with a pioneering spirit, Pudong is innovating methods in governance and optimizing its administrative approval system.

Recently, the area has launched the country's first pilot program of “one integrated certificate in the fields of culture, sports, and tourism” that simplifies 31 approval procedures into one, broadening market access and canceling registration based on business scope. Under the program, the first batch of three certified companies will carry out pilot projects on the integrated businesses of cultural, sports, and tourism parks and tourist routes in specific areas.

Reforms play a critical role in stimulating market vitality, increasing the number of market players and strengthening enterprises' core competitiveness. To cater to the demands of companies, Pudong should inject fresh momentum into a new round of industrial development, adopt innovative thinking, break major development bottlenecks, and facilitate the innovation of market entities, according to the information office of Pudong.

"This is an institutional innovation closely related to market entities' growth. It is also a declaration of Pudong's confidence in becoming a pioneer in high-level reform and opening-up," said Huang Wei, member of the standing committee of the CPC Pudong committee and head of Pudong’s information office.

Boosting rural vitalization, as well as prioritizing the development of agriculture and rural areas are key points highlighted in the report of the 20th National Congress of the CPC. Homestays are gaining more popularity and serving as a new growth driver for the rural economy.

Under the surging demand in the market, Pudong is shouldering the responsibility and playing a leading role in the "delegating power, streamlining administration, and optimizing government services" reform efforts.

On March 15, Pudong held a ceremony to issue licenses for a batch of rural homestays, breaking through the pain points and accelerating the economic development of the sector.

Huang said that delegating powers is not only simplifying the approval process, but also applying new management philosophies. For example, the application for hygienic licenses in public places should be approved by notification and commitment. For food operation and liquor services, enterprises can apply for licenses according to needs in which the market supervision department will conduct a parallel approval process.

He noted that streamlining administration requires following strict standards with an inclusive mind. For instance, rural homestays are managed under a rating system of the "white list", "encouragement list", and "elimination list".

Government departments should also take the initiative to extend the service chain, Huang added. 

Boosting confidence to grasp new opportunities

This year's Shanghai Global Investment Promotion Conference on April 6 released positive signals for development, as well as stabilized market confidence with the launch of a slew of preferential policies and enormous investment opportunities.

Forecyte Bio Ltd, a company under the CDMO, or Contract Development Manufacturing Organization, focuses on the cell and gene therapy industry. The company launched its research and development center at the Waigaoqiao bonded area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone recently. With a total investment of nearly 300 million yuan ($43.23 million), the project will accelerate the agglomeration effect of cell and gene therapy industries in Waigaoqiao.

He Yingke, CEO and founder of Forecyte, said, "As the country's first bonded zone, Waigaoqiao has advantages in helping enterprises that need to import medical equipment. It is very suitable for pharmaceutical R&D and production."

Pudong is also bolstering the autonomous driving industry and is striving to create a demonstration zone for intelligent connected vehicles. 

On Feb 1, the area issued The Regulations on Promoting the Innovative Application of Driverless Intelligent Connected Vehicles in Shanghai's Pudong New Area. On March 22, it held a launch ceremony to fuel the innovative application of driverless intelligent connected vehicles, marking a new era of unmanned vehicles in Pudong and the opening of the first batch of test roads for self-driving cars. 

After the launch of the regulations, Pudong issued the Shanghai Pudong New Area's Implementation Rules for Promoting the Innovative Application of Driverless Intelligent Connected Vehicles and the Lingang Implementation Rules according to local conditions.

Li Xiaoliang, deputy director of the science and technology and economic committee of Pudong New Area, said the implementation rules provide guidelines for enterprises to carry out innovative application activities of driverless intelligent connected vehicles. In the future, Pudong will expand the roads and accelerate the construction of vehicle-road coordination infrastructure to form a "vehicle-road-network-cloud-map" integrated model.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the construction of the Shanghai FTZ. Pudong will advance reforms, continue to create a first-class business environment that is market-oriented, legalized, and internationalized, as well as stabilize market confidence to make the area a top destination for innovation and entrepreneurship.