Plans aim to drive Shanghai economy

Shanghai's two action plans to develop cross-border e-commerce and the exhibition sector will consolidate their role as the new economic drivers and help the metropolis achieve high growth, local officials said on Thursday.

To facilitate the development of cross-border e-commerce, industry leaders have been encouraged to set up regional headquarters in the city, which is expected to help build an industrial cluster, according to the action plan (2023-25) unveiled on Thursday.

The city will smoothen clearances, and render favorable tax and foreign exchange policies to e-commerce companies, as per the plan.

A pilot will be put in place for retail sales of imported pharmaceuticals and medical devices via cross-border e-commerce platforms.

A matchmaking logistics service platform will be launched to better connect seaports and airports. Companies will be guided to optimize their overseas warehouse mapping, the plan has outlined.

"As a relatively novel business model, cross-border e-commerce has helped advance digitalization in foreign trade. Linking the domestic and international markets, cross-border e-commerce, as a new economic driver, will help stabilize and upgrade foreign trade," said Shen Weihua, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, in a news conference.

The total trade value of Shanghai-based e-commerce platforms jumped 84 percent year-on-year to 142 billion yuan ($19.8 billion) in the first half, according to the commission.

Shanghai-based cross-border e-commerce companies had built 138 overseas warehouses by the end of June, with a total construction area of 1.79 million square meters.

A comprehensive service platform for cross-border e-commerce companies' overseas warehouses was launched in Shanghai on Wednesday. This will provide services such as export settlement, tax refunds and tracing of returned goods.

Meanwhile, according to the three-year action plan for Shanghai's exhibition industry — made up of 20 detailed measures — the total annual exhibition area in the city is expected to touch 22 million sq m by 2025, of which 80 percent would be taken up by international shows.

According to the city's commerce commission, 169 exhibitions were held in Shanghai in the first half. The total exhibition area of these shows exceeded 7.58 million sq m.

More exhibitions themed on digital economy, green transition and healthcare should be held in Shanghai, the plan stated. There should also be more technology demonstrations and exchanges via exhibitions on integrated circuits, biomedicine, artificial intelligence and high-end equipment manufacturing, it said.

The exhibition industry worldwide has started to recover due to the reduced impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Zhang Guohua, deputy director of the commission. However, the industry is reshaping, indicating that Shanghai should speed up its pace to seize the recovery window, he said.