The Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China has released its recommendations for the city's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), outlining initiatives to build a new open economic system and enhance key reform and opening-up zones for the city's economic and social development.

Building a new open economic system

Shanghai plans to elevate its free trade zone strategy by aligning with international high-standard trade and economic rules, achieving a deeper, broader, and stronger level of all-round, high-quality opening-up. Efforts will focus on finance, telecommunications, healthcare, law, culture, education, and shipping to expand pilot programs for opening up the service industry. It will also refine the negative list management system for cross-border trade in services.

The city will seek to build new competitive advantages and optimize its foreign investment service system to attract higher-quality foreign investment and encourage foreign reinvestment in China. Support will be strengthened for the regional headquarters of multinational corporations and foreign-funded R&D centers to enhance their capabilities.

Shanghai will further improve the functions of the comprehensive service platform for businesses looking to expand internationally. It will encourage professional service organizations to expand their global networks and improve their cross-border service capabilities, while guiding businesses going global to operate in a safe and law-based manner.

The city will also step up participation in the Belt and Road Initiative by promoting exchanges and cooperation in science, culture, tourism, and other fields with countries involved in the initiative, and by advancing the development of the pilot zone for Silk Road e-commerce cooperation to high standards.

At the same time, Shanghai will enhance its management and service capabilities under open conditions to better manage outbound investment.

Enhancing key reform and opening-up zones

Shanghai will introduce new measures to support Pudong New Area as a leading zone for socialist modernization. This will involve deepening its comprehensive reform pilot and improving its legislative and management mechanisms, with plans to establish a comprehensive bonded zone for science and technology innovation.

The city will assist the Lin-gang Special Area in focusing on cross-border data, offshore finance, and offshore tech innovation to continuously develop it as a special economic zone. This involves promoting innovation in systems and models for bonded maintenance, remanufacturing, cross-border e-commerce, and data development. Coordination and clustering across the manufacturing supply chain will be enhanced, alongside tailored support for the development of "one-person companies" in line with local conditions.

Shanghai will also enhance the open system innovation of the Hongqiao International Open Hub, promoting coordinated development in transportation, conventions, exhibitions, and commerce. The hub will be developed into an R&D cluster for manufacturing in the Yangtze River Delta region, with stronger functions for the aggregation, distribution, display, and trading of imported and exported goods. The construction of the Hongqiao Overseas Development Service Center will be accelerated to make it the first stop for YRD enterprises going global.

In addition, Shanghai plans to build the Eastern Hub International Business Cooperation Zone to high standards by improving mechanisms for the cross-border movement of goods and people, and by expanding international business exchanges, high-end conventions and exhibitions, professional training, and tech innovation functions.

The city will also optimize the planning, management, and supervision models of special customs supervision areas to accelerate their transformation and upgrading.

Source: Official WeChat account of the General Office of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government at "shanghaifabu"