Great biz environment makes Pudong the best 'long-distance run' partner

Shanghai's Pudong is focused on implementing an ambitious "6G" plan, the head of the new area said during a promotion at the ongoing 6th China International Import Expo on Monday.

Wu Jincheng, acting director of Pudong, said: "We are implementing an action plan to gather six high-end functional entities and promote high-quality development."

The six are: Group Open Innovation Center Plan, Growth by Industrial Digitalization, Global Operation Program, Global Consumer Brand Cluster, Global Institutional Investors Cluster and Global Economic Organization Cluster, Wu revealed. The aim is to create an excellent business environment in the pioneering area and promote the high-level opening up of Pudong to the outside world.

"Pudong is deeply implementing the strategy of upgrading the pilot free trade zone; benchmarking international high-standard economic and trade rules; promoting institutional openness in rules, regulations, management, standards, and other areas; and striving to introduce a series of innovative measures in fields such as foreign investment access, market openness and cross-border data flow," Wu told a parallel session of the Hongqiao International Economic Forum at the CIIE earlier.

Hub node to the world

Pudong's Party secretary Zhu Zhisong pointed out "Pudong is a hub node for China to connect with the world, giving birth to China's first bonded zone and first pilot free trade zone.

"In the future, more firsts will be born here, allowing enterprises to better serve China, and the world."

In 2022, the gross domestic product of Pudong exceeded 1.6 trillion yuan (US$219.8 billion), with the per capita GDP exceeding US$40,000, and the total import and export volume of foreign trade hitting nearly 2.5 trillion yuan.

Ernst&Young noted Pudong's unparalleled forward-looking policies and industrial planning have pointed out the direction for enterprise development. Choosing the new area is choosing a forward-looking long-distance partner.

Kelvin Li, managing director of Cushman & Wakefield East China, described Pudong as an important consumption, economic and financial core area in Shanghai which is rapidly advancing the construction of an international consumption center.

"Pudong is the largest distribution center for imported consumer goods in China. The import volume of medicines and cosmetics accounts for around 20 percent of China's total, and the import volume of watches and liquor products accounts for about one-fourth of China's total," he noted.

"Pudong is the first choice for international brands to enter the China market, and the brand agglomeration effect is very evident. Cushman & Wakefield data shows that nearly one-third of the world's top 100 retailers have entered the Pudong market.

"Many well-known brands have entered Pudong. For the full-year 2022, 203 brands opened new stores in the new area."

Charlotte Lu from Deloitte China believes Pudong will unleash greater potential in "breaking" and "making." "Pudong will further expand its horizons of going global by pioneering with demonstrative pilots," she observed.

In June, Pudong took the lead in implementing a pilot program for importing remanufactured products. Volvo became the first enterprise to benefit from the pilot program and imported the first remanufactured engine.

'Innovation Reception Hall'

"The development of such pilots brings more possibilities for enterprises to explore business growth. They are also looking forward to higher quality pilots in the future, so as to quickly connect with the international community," Lu noted.

PricewaterhouseCoopers defines Pudong as a world-class "Science and Technology Innovation Reception Hall."

Shanghai has 20 grand scientific facilities constructed, under construction, or planned, 14 of which are located in Pudong. Among the three national-level laboratories, Pudong has two. The new area possesses an entire chain of scientific and technological public service system ranging from research and development to the transformation of achievements, facilitating enterprises to carry out technology practices and innovations.

Pudong has gathered 13 financial markets and infrastructure along with 1,181 licensed financial institutions, making it one of the most robust regions in the global financial system with the highest concentration of financial institutions, according to the company that has been engrained in the new area for three decades.

CBRE China is also full of confidence, citing its combined advantages in terms of industrial chain clusters, talent, government efficiency, business environment and market scale, which are the core factors that smart manufacturing companies take into account when selecting locations.

In 2022, the new area's manufacturing output in strategic emerging industries accounted for 39 percent of the city's total, of which new-energy vehicles, new-generation information technology and biomedicine took up 69 percent, 43 percent and 35 percent, respectively.