To advance the high-quality development of trade in services in Shanghai, seven municipal authorities including the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce have recently issued the Plan for Building Shanghai National Pilot Zone for Innovative Development of Trade in Services (hereinafter referred to as the Plan).

The Plan sets clear targets: by 2027, Shanghai’s total volume of trade in services will reach USD 270 billion. The city will achieve improved trade structure, greater agglomeration of market entities, freer flow of production factors and more internationally competitive service brands, serving as a demonstration and pacesetter for the national high-quality development of trade in services. By 2030, Shanghai’s trade in services volume will exceed USD 300 billion, and the city will strive to develop into a globally influential hub for trade in services.

Centering on six priority areas, the Plan puts forward 27 key tasks, including efforts to upgrade industrial and supply chains in key sectors of trade in services and boost innovative development of industrial and supply chains for new forms and models of trade in services.

In upgrading industrial and supply chains of key sectors, Shanghai will strive to elevate the capacity of full-chain transportation services, integrate outbound travel service exports with inbound consumption, and foster innovative growth in telecommunications, computer and information services.

On advancing high-level opening-up, the Plan states that Shanghai will actively conduct research and seek central government support to deepen pilot opening-up policies for value-added telecommunications services and roll them out across the city in an orderly manner. Meanwhile, Shanghai will strengthen alignment with international standards, focus on priority sectors such as digitalization, green low-carbon development, artificial intelligence and biotechnology, and enhance policy guidance on standardization.

The Plan makes systematic arrangements for the innovative development of new forms and models of trade in services surrounding Shanghai’s three pioneering industries: integrated circuits, biomedicine and artificial intelligence.

For integrated circuits, Shanghai will promote integration of IC design and manufacturing and build an international joint design center in Lingang New Area. It will support integrated circuit enterprises to achieve breakthroughs across the whole industrial chain and cultivate a group of globally competitive leading firms.

For biomedicine, Shanghai will back enterprises to complete global registration and certification for innovative drugs, modern traditional Chinese medicines and high-end medical devices, and realize local sales overseas. Pilot programs for wider opening-up in the development and application of gene diagnosis and therapy technologies will be launched in the Pilot Free Trade Zone.

For artificial intelligence, the Plan proposes that Shanghai attract enterprises and institutions to set up AI R&D centers, open-source platforms and joint laboratories. The city will expand overseas invocation of computing power and foundation models, and support exports of model products including AI agents and multimodal generative models.

Liang Shaolian, Deputy Director of the Comprehensive Planning Division of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, told reporters from the Shanghai Securities News that during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, Shanghai will boost coordinated development of “AI + IC”, drive innovation in the new-generation electronic information industry as well as software and information service sector, empower transformation and upgrading across all industries, and seize the commanding heights in global technological and industrial competition. It is learned that Shanghai now hosts more than 1,000 key integrated circuit enterprises, with its computing power scale exceeding 170,000 P, and over 180 large models having completed filing.

On financial trade in services, the Plan supports innovative development of financial and insurance services. It calls for formulating and implementing an action plan for digital renminbi development in Shanghai, accelerating the construction of a global asset management center and an international reinsurance center, and piloting facilitation for overseas investment using income from inbound cross-border reinsurance business. Shanghai will raise the international profile of bulk commodities, open more futures and options varieties directly to overseas traders, and deepen trade in services cooperation between Lujiazui Financial City and the City of London.

A major highlight of the Plan is its strong focus on data trade. It urges Shanghai to expand data trade. The city will support compliant use of cross-border data dedicated lines and provide value-added services for overseas data elements on the premise of ensuring data security. It will upgrade the International Zone of the Shanghai Data Exchange, explore the development of an international data service and management platform in the International Data Economic Industrial Park, and foster business forms such as data processing, digital culture and data services for enterprises going global.

Feng Gui’an, Director of the Urban Digital Transformation Division of the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Data, told reporters that Shanghai will further leverage scenario-driven development and consolidate the digital and intelligent foundation for citywide growth. The city will upgrade blockchain infrastructure, strengthen secure and reliable foundational support, and build a system of blockchain application scenarios. At the same time, Shanghai will prioritize opening-up and coordination to create a sound environment for international digital cooperation. It will facilitate cross-border data channels, develop “headquarters-to-headquarters” cross-border data flow service facilities built on mutual recognition of rules, and strengthen international data service infrastructure. The city will improve the service system for enterprises’ digital expansion overseas and boost digital service capacity supporting companies “going global”.

Source: Shanghai Securities News