Shanghai remains hot destination for foreign capital

The city of Shanghai in East China remains a hot destination for foreign capital – as indicated by the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, which held its Briefing on Shanghai's Commerce and Investment 2023 on Feb 27.

The event was attended by nearly 150 representatives from foreign consulates in Shanghai, overseas trade promotion agencies, foreign-funded enterprises in the city, as well as local government departments.

According to officials, Shanghai's economy showed strong resilience, potential and vitality in 2022. The city's economic output continued to rank first among China's central cities, with Shanghai continuing to be a powerful magnet for international investment.

The total volume of financial market transactions in the city was nearly 3,000 trillion yuan ($432.27 trillion) last year. What's more, Shanghai port's container throughput topped 47.3 million twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEUs – the standard container size – and the total value of import and exports through the port came in at 10.4 trillion yuan.

Officials said that in 2023 Shanghai's focus in commerce would be fixed on building a high-level platform for opening-up, fully restoring and expanding consumer spending, pushing for stable foreign trade at a larger scale, optimized infrastructure and promoting the steady increase of foreign investment.

The Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce said it aims to roll out a series of innovative reforms and innovation. Moreover, it plans to support the Hongqiao International Central Business District in creating a new trading platform and organizing the sixth China International Import Expo.

Meanwhile, the city will continue with its development as an international retailing magnet, as well as stay on course to boost its cross-border trade business environment.

Shanghai aims to create a first-class business ecosystem that is market-oriented, rule-of-law-oriented and internationalized – in order to stabilize the expectations of foreign investors and bolster their confidence in investing there.