Shanghai Positions Itself As a Global Hub For International Organizations

In November 2012, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) launched a hearing center within the Yuanshen Sports Center in Pudong, marking the first time an international sports organization established a permanent presence in Shanghai. Over a decade later, the CAS Shanghai Hearing Center has evolved into a pivotal hub for resolving sports disputes across the Asia-Pacific region.

On December 1, 2025, the center relocated to a historic building on the Changning campus of East China University of Political Science and Law, a site once home to the predecessor of the Chinese Olympic Committee.

The case was cited at a recent international cooperation forum in Shanghai as an example of how international organizations are taking on more defined roles in the city.

The second "A River Dialogue between Shanghai and New York" forum was co-hosted by the Shanghai Public Relations Association, the Shanghai Institute of American Studies, and the Shanghai UN Research Association.

This year's forum, titled "Decoding the Interaction and Cooperation between Global Metropolises and International Organizations," brought together officials, scholars and representatives of international organizations to discuss how major cities engage with global institutions.

Delivering a video address to the forum, Mehri Madarshahi, a former senior economist of the UN Secretariat, drew a comparison between Shanghai's development trajectory and that of New York.

Madarshahi recalled how the establishment of the UN headquarters in 1945 transformed New York from a relatively limited international city into a global center for diplomacy and exchange.

"The UN created an environment of international exchange and global publicity for the city," she said, adding that the annual General Assembly brings delegations from 194 countries for extended stays.

"Economically, the UN has been extremely useful to the livelihood of New York and its global recognition," she said.

Shanghai's growing international presence

Shanghai today hosts a wide range of international organizations and representative offices, including arbitration bodies, multilateral financial institutions, UN-affiliated entities, industry associations and chambers of commerce, according to the information shared at the forum.

These organizations are distributed across districts with different functional roles.

The Pudong New Area hosts many organizations related to industry standards, arbitration, and technical cooperation. Changning and Jing'an have host organizations with legal, cultural, and professional functions. The Hongqiao International Central Business District focuses on trade services and regional coordination.

Madarshahi said Shanghai already meets many core requirements international organizations look for in a host city.

"From a material and operational standpoint, Shanghai is clearly capable of hosting many types of international organizations," she said, citing connectivity, modern infrastructure, reliable utilities, universities, and a large pool of bilingual professionals.

Pudong has developed dedicated platforms for international organizations, including the Qiantan International Economic Organization Cluster, which provides office facilities and venues for policy exchange and professional events for 25 international organizations.

They include the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE), which registered its Shanghai representative office in March 2025. In May, ISPE held its annual meeting in Pudong, with sessions on digital systems, artificial intelligence, and biopharmaceutical manufacturing.

The TIC Council (Testing, Inspection and Certification Council), headquartered in Brussels, opened its Shanghai representative office in Pudong in December 2021, becoming the third such office worldwide. The council represents more than 90 leading companies in the testing, inspection, and certification sectors, with a combined annual revenue of about US$200 billion.

The Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) established its Shanghai representative office in 2014 and moved into the Qiantan cluster in 2024. By 2024, its 33 member companies had established 400 legal entities, 60 manufacturing sites and 30 research centers in China, creating about 73,000 jobs.

Madarshahi linked Shanghai's development to broader UN priorities, including the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on climate change, both adopted in 2015.

"These two initiatives had about 15 years of implementation, and now we are already at the 10th year," she said, noting that progress has slowed.

She identified economic development, trade, climate policy, urban governance and sustainable finance as areas where Shanghai could support more regional offices or thematic organizations.

Shanghai is also home to the UNESCO International Institute for STEM Education, which was inaugurated in September 2025 as a UNESCO Category 1 institute. The institute focuses on advancing science, technology, engineering and mathematics education globally and is the first UNESCO Category 1 center in China and the Asia-Pacific region, working closely with the Shanghai government.

Madarshahi also pointed to culture as a long-term connector between cities and the international community, describing cultural exchange as a practical tool for dialogue among civilizations.

She said Shanghai's modern, international image has yet to fully integrate with older neighborhoods that retain traditional housing and social patterns.

Greater social inclusion, she said, would allow more residents to contribute to the city's development and create broader opportunities, reflecting UN priorities on balanced and sustainable urban growth.