The Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce and the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Finance have released a guide outlining special funds for pilot projects of new consumption patterns, models, and scenarios in Shanghai. This guide includes eligibility criteria and application procedures.

I. Areas of support

The funding aims to support the following areas:

(1) Debut economy

- Building a clustered ecosystem for the debut economy.

- Opening high-level first stores.

- Hosting first-launch events, and first shows and exhibitions.

(2) Innovative and diversified service consumption scenarios

- New, cross-industry consumption scenarios.

- Development of service consumption clusters.

- Bringing key sporting events or performances into business areas, neighborhoods, and scenic spots.

- Development of the night economy.

- Construction of foreign trade high-quality product exhibition and sales centers.

(3) Cross-sector collaboration between quality consumption resources and  well-known brands

- Development of derivative products through cross-brand collaboration.

- Developing new products and opening new stores.

- Enterprise transformation and upgrades.

- "AI plus consumption" clusters.

II. Support methods

The actual investment and operational use of projects should fall between Oct 1, 2025 (inclusive) and June 30, 2027 (inclusive). Support methods include subsidies and awards.

(1) Subsidy support

- The amount of subsidy will be determined based on the project's functional positioning, service method, and approved investment amount.

- The subsidy rate will not exceed 30 percent of the approved investment.

- Eligible investments must have occurred between Oct 1, 2025 (inclusive) and the completion of the project, and must align with the supported areas.

- The actual investment amount for projects approved for support must be no less than 1 million yuan ($146,674).

(2) Award support

- Award-based projects will receive a one-time reward based on the project's successful completion.

(3) Maximum support amount

- If a single project meets the criteria for multiple support areas, applicants may only select one area for application.

- Individual companies can apply for multiple projects, but the total support received from this special fund during the policy implementation period shall not exceed 20 million yuan.

III. Application requirements

(1) Applicant eligibility

- Legally registered and operating in Shanghai with independent legal entity status.

- Must have an independent and sound financial accounting and management system, with standardized financial management practices, good credit, and a strong financial standing. No adverse records or violations.

- Have clear plans and measures for the construction of Shanghai's new consumption patterns, models, and scenarios, and possess the necessary conditions for project implementation.

- The project site should be located within Shanghai. If a project involves multiple entities, one entity should be designated to apply and submit an authorization letter from the other entities authorizing it to apply for funding support (which should explain the relationship with the project and the applicant).

- The applicant for award-based projects should be the actual operating entity of the project. If the actual operating entity is a branch company, the application must be submitted uniformly by the head office operating in Shanghai.

- The applicant for subsidy-based projects should be the investing entity of the project. Head office and branch company, parent company, and subsidiary company (100 percent holding) can jointly invest, and the application must be submitted uniformly by the head office or parent company operating in Shanghai.

- The applicant has not experienced any major or extraordinarily serious workplace safety accidents in the past three years and has not been included in any list of serious dishonesty or joint disciplinary sanctions.

- Applicants should submit the Application Form for Shanghai Special Funds for Pilot Projects of New Consumption Patterns, Models, and Scenarios

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along with other materials. Specific application conditions and material requirements are detailed in the application guidelines for each specific support area in the attachments.

(2) Negative list

- Projects that have already received support from central government infrastructure investment, modern commercial circulation pilot funds, other central government special funds, or municipal-level fiscal funds are not eligible for support from this special fund.

- The special fund shall not be used for new construction or expansion of infrastructure, commercial complexes, or projects such as ancient towns, memorial halls, and museums, nor for general decoration. It cannot be used for exhibitions, festivals, and forum activities organized, undertaken, or partially funded by Party and government organizations. This fund cannot be used to pay fines, sponsorships, repaying debts, or covering personnel and operational expenses of financial subsidy units. Additionally, it cannot be used for land development, land acquisition and demolition, or the construction of government buildings. Expenditure on information systems for public institutions, nursing homes, wards, and other unrelated fields is also excluded, as well as free purely public welfare projects.

- In terms of supporting the improvement of the debut economy service system, it does not support homogeneous "first stores" lacking substantial innovation, nor does it support debut projects that infringe on intellectual property rights or cause other adverse social impacts.

- The fund does not support government- or enterprise-issued consumer coupons, preferential subsidies, or promotional activities. It also does not support consumer promotion activities organized by the government or enterprises, or projects lacking consumer-related content or free access. The fund does not support activities limited to short durations or temporarily built consumption scenarios, such as marathons or other mass events held one to two times a year, or consumption scenarios lasting less than one month (unless the project aligns with the other two supported directions). Additionally, it does not support pure commodity consumption projects, such as traditional shopping supermarkets, gas stations, or charging stations, nor projects with a single traditional business model, such as dealerships, traditional car sales and maintenance venues, or single-format restaurants.

IV. Application materials

1. Project application materials must be complete, truthful, and valid, and stamped with the official seal and the seam seal of the applying entity. If any fraudulent or falsely claimed information is found, the application qualification or result will be canceled upon verification, and the applying entity will bear the corresponding legal responsibilities.

2. Electronic materials should be scanned copies of paper materials, ensuring they are clear and legible.

V. Application method

(1) Project application

- Online Application: From May 1 to May 31, 2026, applicants should log in to the Suishendui - Precision Service for Enterprise Policies (随申兑，惠企政策精准服务) window on the Government Online-Offline Shanghai (上海一网通办) platform (https://zwdt.sh.gov.cn/qykj/shell_oc_policy_zq/policy/index?from=zwfw) using the legal entity certificate or electronic business license to complete and submit the required electronic materials online.

(2) District-level preliminary review

- The commercial authorities or functional area administrative committees in each district will conduct a preliminary review of the application materials filed and submitted online by the project applicants. The review will primarily focus on the authenticity of the project, the eligibility of the applicant, the standardization, completeness, and authenticity of the application materials, and whether the construction content meets the criteria. The commercial authorities or functional area management committees in each district will submit the results of the preliminary review online within 15 working days after accepting the materials.

(3) Municipal-level review

- The Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce will conduct a comprehensive evaluation through expert reviews and other methods, review the evaluation results, determine the projects and amounts to be supported, and make the findings public. A cross-departmental mechanism will also be established to prevent duplicate support for fund projects.

VI. Application inquiries

(1) Municipal commerce authorities

- Support area: Improving the debut economy service system

- Responsible department: Consumption Promotion Division

- Contact number: 021-23110534

- Support area: Creating cross-industry integrated consumption scenarios/Service consumption clusters

- Responsible department: Living Service Industry Division

- Contact number: 021-23110650

- Support area: Integrating key sporting events or performances into business areas, neighborhoods, and scenic spots/Developing the night economy

- Responsible department: Consumption Promotion Division

- Contact number: 021-23110687, 021-23110521

- Support area: Construction of foreign trade high-quality product exhibition and sales centers.

- Responsible department: Trade Industry Management Division

- Contact number: 021-23110675

- Support area: Supporting collaborative development of derivative products between consumption resources and brands to create comprehensive consumption scenarios / Supporting brands in developing new products and opening new stores / Supporting enterprise transformation and upgrades

- Responsible department: Consumption Promotion Division

- Contact number: 021-23110534

- Support area: Creating "artificial intelligence plus consumption" Clusters

- Responsible department: E-commerce Division

- Contact number: 021-23110545

(2) District commerce authorities

- Pudong New Area commission of commerce: 021-68541351

- Huangpu district commission of commerce: 021-33134800 ext 21081

- Jing'an district commission of commerce: 021-33371850

- Xuhui district commission of commerce: 021-64872222 ext 1059

- Changning district commission of commerce: 021-22050826

- Putuo district commission of commerce: 021-52564588 ext 7042

- Hongkou district commission of commerce: 021-25658345

- Yangpu district commission of commerce: 021-25032848

- Baoshan district commission of commerce: 021-56173826

- Minhang district commission of commerce: 021-64142771

- Jiading district commission of commerce: 021-69989841

- Jinshan district commission of commerce: 021-57921185

- Songjiang district commission of economy and informatization: 021-37737131

- Qingpu district commission of commerce: 021-59734847

- Fengxian district commission of commerce: 021-67192369

- Chongming district commission of economy and informatization: 021-59623330

- Lin-gang Special Area administrative committee: 021-68283139

 

Sources: Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Finance

Note: The English text is for reference only. In the event of any discrepancy, the Chinese version shall prevail.