Shanghai's total trade value jumps 3.4% to $360b in first seven months

Shanghai's total import and export value jumped 3.4 percent year-on-year to 2.55 trillion yuan ($360 billion) in the first seven months of the year, reflecting the city's economic resilience against the global headwinds in tariff policies, said local officials.

The data was released during a press meeting on Monday, which is part of a five-day on-site research in Shanghai.

It should be noted that Shanghai's export value surged 10.7 percent year-on-year during the first seven months. In July alone, the city's trade value spiked 9.5 percent on a yearly basis, among which export value gained 8.5 percent and that for import up 10.3 percent, said Luo Zhisong, chief economist at the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), the export and import value of goods totaled $2.81 trillion, outnumbering the $2.5-trillion target and registering a compound annual growth rate of over 4 percent, according to Luo.

Nearly 2,500 foreign-invested companies were newly registered in the city in the first five months of the year. The value of utilized foreign capital exceeded $7.6 billion.

A total of 279 multinational companies set up their regional headquarters in Shanghai during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, and the number of newly established foreign-invested research centers came to 142. Among these, 34 MNCs' regional headquarters and 32 foreign research centers were launched in the first seven months of the year, according to Luo.

Shanghai thus retains its position as the Chinese city accommodating the largest number of MNCs' regional headquarters and research centers, with the respective numbers coming at 1,050 and 623, according to information released during the Monday meeting.

Meanwhile, Shanghai introduced 278 major foreign-invested projects during the first eight months of the year, with the combined investment value reaching 143.7 billion yuan.

All these are inseparable from the municipal government's continued efforts to better its business environment. A special mechanism was rolled out in 2020 to serve major foreign-invested projects landed in the city. Shanghai's foreign investment regulations were introduced in 2020. Special teams to stabilize foreign trade were established at the municipal and district levels earlier this year.

The State Council, China's Cabinet, said in a document in July that the experiences at the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone should be promoted nationwide.

Many first attempts have been made at the Shanghai FTZ, which was officially launched in 2013. A total of nine foreign companies have been approved for the pilot program of value-added telecommunication services. Nearly 40 foreign enterprises have been approved to carry out pilot business related to the development and application of human stem cell gene diagnosis and treatment technology. Shanghai International Reinsurance Exchange was unveiled in October at the Lin-gang Special Area, which was included in the Shanghai FTZ in 2019.

Shanghai will continue to advance the comprehensive reform and pilot programs at the Pudong New Area, accelerating the upgrading of institutional opening-up, said local officials at the Monday meeting.