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Shanghai has set its economic growth goal for this year at approximately 5 percent, a slight decrease from last year’s actual growth rate of 5.4 percent, according to the latest government report.
The target was announced during the opening of the city’s 16th People’s Congress session. Mayor Gong Zheng stated that the city aims for a 2 percent rise in overall public budget revenue this year, with research and development spending making up about 4.6 percent of the gross domestic product. The urban unemployment rate is projected to stay under 5 percent, and per capita disposable income growth is expected to align closely with overall economic growth.
Last year, Shanghai’s GDP reached CNY 5.67 trillion (USD 815.6 billion), an increase of 5.4 percent that surpassed expectations. Despite a global slowdown, foreign trade expanded, with total imports and exports growing nearly 6 percent to CNY 4.51 trillion, and exports rising by 11 percent.
The city remained a top destination for foreign investment, attracting USD 16.1 billion (CNY 114.8 billion) in foreign direct investment. Several important foreign-funded projects in new energy vehicles and biomedicine advanced at a quicker pace.
Boosting domestic demand continues to be a key focus this year. Shanghai plans to enhance consumption, promote effective investments, and stabilize foreign investment and trade. Initiatives include expanding service consumption, developing new economy sectors such as the nighttime economy, live-streaming economy, and senior-friendly markets. The city also aims to enrich digital, entertainment, and cruise tourism experiences, improve domestic housekeeping services, and facilitate inbound travel, tax refunds for visitors, and cross-border payments to tap into inbound spending potential. Additionally, the city will organize more events to stimulate consumption, including larger concerts and music festivals.
New policies will be introduced to stabilize foreign trade and support cross-border commerce. The city will encourage foreign companies to invest more in advanced manufacturing, modern services, high-tech sectors, and environmental protection, while also expediting the progress of foreign-funded projects in finance, telecommunications, healthcare, culture, and tourism.
In terms of technology and industry, priorities include advancing Shanghai’s role as an international economic hub, supporting industries such as smart connected electric vehicles, marine economy, low-altitude economy, aerospace, and satellite internet. Efforts will also focus on creating distinctive digital industrial clusters, as well as expanding capacity, enhancing quality, and promoting industrial clustering in the service sector.
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