Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, Shanghai has made continuous efforts to establish itself as an international economic center.

The city's GDP surpassed 5 trillion yuan ($688.4 billion) in 2024, maintaining its leading position among China's economic centers.

Industrial development

In 2024, the added value of the primary industry amounted to 9.97 billion yuan, while the secondary industry reached 1.16 trillion yuan. The city's tertiary industry saw its added value increase by 5.7 percent from the previous year, exceeding 4.21 trillion yuan.

Shanghai has optimized the approval, management, and service processes for various fields, streamlined surveying and mapping for engineering and construction projects, and improved the transparency of intermediate service management.

Foreign trade

In 2024, the city's total import and export value increased 1.3 percent year-on-year to 4.27 trillion yuan, setting a new record. The actual utilization of foreign capital amounted to $17.5 billion.

Last year, the city also attracted 60 new regional headquarters of multinational corporations and 30 foreign-funded research centers, bringing the total numbers to 1,016 and 591, respectively.

Business environment

Since 2018, Shanghai has implemented eight rounds of action plans to improve its business environment. The city's innovative practices in areas such as license processing, project approval, and enterprise deregistration have been promoted nationwide, helping China's business environment to rise in global rankings.

Shanghai released the eighth action plan in February. The plan aims to build a world-class business environment and enhance the sense of gain among enterprises by coming up with 58 detailed measures.

Updated: Feb 25, 2025

Sources: Shanghai Municipal Government Work Report, 2024 Shanghai Basic Facts