Shanghai has unveiled details of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) for the Lin-gang Special Area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, outlining the area's development goals and priorities.

The plan positions Lin-gang as a pioneering demonstration zone for testing China's high-standard opening-up, a key functional area supporting Shanghai's development of the "five centers" — international economic, financial, trade, shipping, and science and technology innovation centers — and a sci-tech innovation city that attracts innovators and entrepreneurs from China and abroad.

Key targets for 2026-30

1. Introduce 70 institutional innovation cases that are the first of their kind in China;

2. Keep total research and development spending at or above 6 percent of GDP;

3. Achieve average annual GDP growth of 7.5 percent;

4. Achieve a cumulative $8 billion in actual foreign direct investment use during the five-year period;

5. Increase the total import and export value of bonded maintenance operations to 100 billion yuan ($14.88 billion) by 2030;

6. Increase offshore resale transaction volume to $50 billion by 2030.

Deepening high-level opening-up

Lin-gang will pursue further institutional innovation in areas such as cross-border data flows, offshore and cross-border finance, advanced shipping services, and new bonded business models.

The negative list will be updated, and operational guidelines for cross-border data transfers will be expanded.

Lin-gang will take the lead in piloting offshore finance, exploring offshore trade finance services, free trade offshore bonds, and pilot programs for multinational corporate treasury centers. The business environment for foreign investors will also be further improved.

In shipping, Lin-gang will develop into a global shipping hub and an international green fuel bunkering center, providing liquefied natural gas and green methanol bunkering services for international vessels. The LNG bunkering volume for international vessels is targeted to reach 1 million cubic meters by 2030.

Building advanced industry clusters

Lin-gang will focus on four advanced manufacturing clusters and the digital economy:

Integrated circuits: With a focus on wafer fabrication and advanced packaging and testing, Lin-gang will promote the development of chip design, equipment, and materials, with a target of more than 120 billion yuan in output;

Civil aviation: Lin-gang will develop major structural components, composite materials, airborne equipment, aircraft engines, and other industries supporting large passenger aircraft final assembly, with a target of more than 50 billion yuan in output;

Intelligent vehicles: Lin-gang will focus on advances in vehicle intelligence, with a target of more than 300 billion yuan in output;

High-end equipment: Lin-gang will focus on new-type energy storage and energy equipment, with a target of more than 100 billion yuan in output;

Digital economy: Lin-gang will advance the digital transformation of industry, AI-powered smart factories, and industrial robots, while developing an AI-enabled digital culture sector. Its core digital economy industries are expected to reach a scale exceeding 100 billion yuan.

Developing Lin-gang Sci-Tech Innovation City

Lin-gang will accelerate the completion and launch of major research platforms, including Lin Gang Laboratory, and attract public research institutions and service platforms aligned with its leading industries.

Proof-of-concept, pilot-scale testing, and commercial validation capabilities will be strengthened to bring more technological advances from the laboratory into production and onto the market.

Lin-gang will also support One Person Companies, or OPCs — businesses run by an individual or a small core team with the support of AI and other digital tools. Support will cover workspace, computing power, data corpora, large AI models, and AI toolchains.

Developing an open, modern service sector

Lin-gang will strengthen industrial software, inspection and testing, the industrial internet, and smart operation and maintenance services to better support manufacturing upgrades.

The International Data Economy Industrial Park will be further developed to expand international data services, including processing data brought in from overseas, and improve cross-border data services.

Dishui Lake Financial Bay will attract more financial and trade institutions, with a focus on cross-border finance, asset management, reinsurance, and financial leasing. Reinsurance premiums are expected to amount to 30 billion yuan by 2030.

Enhancing the Yangshan Special Comprehensive Bonded Zone

The Yangshan Special Comprehensive Bonded Zone will advance its Digital Comprehensive Bonded Zone 2.0 initiative to improve data connectivity, customs clearance efficiency, and service quality.

New bonded operations, including processing, R&D, testing, and maintenance, will be expanded, with the zone focusing on developing a bonded maintenance hub for automobiles and aircraft engines.

Making Lin-gang a better place to work and live

Lin-gang will create more high-quality jobs, develop sci-tech innovation communities and integrated innovation and entrepreneurship hubs, and improve entrepreneurship services and housing support.

Transport improvements will include increasing capacity on Metro Line 16, advancing regional railway projects, and completing and opening the Nanhui branch of the Shanghai suburban railway in July 2027.

Education, healthcare, cultural, sports, and commercial facilities will also be expanded. Shanghai Pudong Hospital's Lin-gang campus is scheduled to be completed in 2026.

Sources: Lin-gang Special Area of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, Lin-gang Special Area government, The Paper, IC photo