Shanghai eyes more opening-up with new Pudong business hub

Shanghai has released the masterplan for a new business hub in its eastern Pudong New Area, with the aim for more opening-up and more coordinated economic growth.

The Shanghai Eastern Hub International Business Cooperation Zone, an 880,000-square-meter area neighboring Pudong International Airport, will be built to better exert Shanghai's strengths in opening-up, better connect domestic and international markets, and accelerate growth in the Yangtze River Delta region.

The plan, which has been approved by the State Council, China's cabinet, in principle, expects a basic completion by 2025, with basic operation beginning in 2028, and it will be fully established by 2030.

It will be implemented based on the city's existing status as an international aviation hub, creating a highly convenient vehicle for international business communications.

The new business zone will not only boast a world-class transportation hub incorporating aviation and railway service, with the Shanghai East Railway Station set to open in 2027, but will also benefit from the institutional innovation of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone.

Measures to facilitate cross-border movement in the new zone will be implemented in order to promote international business exchanges.

One highlight is that the plan dispenses with the verification of entry permits for foreign personnel entering the zone from Pudong International Airport on international flights, allowing them to stay in the zone for at least 30 days, streamlining the management of portable objects for foreign personnel.

It also suggests closed management of the new zone and regional connecting channels, as well as the connecting channels of Pudong airport by strictly differentiating internal and external traffic in the zone, banning vehicles from outside.

The plan encourages more cooperation between domestic companies and international exhibition enterprises or institutions, approving the holding of trade exhibitions in the zone, and allowing foreign institutions to independently organize foreign-related economic and technological exhibitions that do not bear the name related to the country.

In addition, the program will improve foreign currency exchange facilities, optimize the foreign exchange payment environment, and expand the coverage of point-of-sale (POS) terminals that accept overseas bank cards, thus largely enhancing the payment service experience of international personnel.

The full masterplan can be found on the official website of the local government.