Shanghai's Pudong New Area showcased sweeping achievements in development and reform on Wednesday as the city enters the final year of its 14th Five-Year Plan.
At a press conference held by the city government, Li Zheng, member of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee and Party secretary of Pudong, outlined the district's progress. Pudong New Area head Wu Jincheng and other senior officials also attended and answered questions.
This year marks the 35th anniversary of Pudong's development and opening-up, as well as the fifth anniversary of President Xi Jinping's keynote speech at the area's 30th anniversary celebration, where he assigned Pudong the mission of becoming a pioneer zone for socialist modernization.
Over the past five years, Pudong has accelerated its transformation into a high-quality urban hub. In 2024, its gross domestic product reached 1.78 trillion yuan, up 34 percent from 2020, with per capita GDP hitting US$43,100. Though covering just 1/8000 of China's land area, Pudong generated 1/76 of the nation's GDP and 1/17 of its trade volume.
Despite global uncertainties, Pudong maintained steady growth in the first half of this year: GDP rose 5.8 percent, industrial output jumped 10.5 percent, and foreign investment inflows surged 36.1 percent. The number of new enterprises increased by 28.1 percent.
Pudong reported that 93 percent of the key national strategies assigned to it – including pilot reforms in institutional opening and comprehensive trials – have been implemented. Reforms range from innovative land-use policies and the launch of the Shanghai Data Exchange to streamlined business registration procedures that have benefited hundreds of thousands of companies.
On the opening-up front, Pudong has welcomed China's first wholly foreign-owned securities firm and public fund manager, while piloting cross-border data flows and new models for gene therapy services. The Oriental Hub International Business Cooperation Zone is also moving toward completion.
Pudong remains at the heart of Shanghai's ambition to build itself into a global center of finance, trade, shipping, and technology. The Zhangjiang Science City now hosts 14 large-scale scientific facilities, 286 foreign R&D centers, and more than 5,000 high-tech enterprises. Valid high-value invention patents surged to 56,900 last year, almost double the 2020 figure.
Strategic industries are advancing toward world-class scale. The integrated circuit sector reached 294.7 billion yuan in 2024, about one-fifth of the national total. Biomedicine pipelines have expanded to nearly 2,000 projects, while artificial intelligence development has clustered around large-model innovation.
Beyond economic growth, Pudong emphasized people-centered development. Fiscal spending on public services accounted for more than 46 percent of expenditure during the plan period. Urban renewal projects benefited nearly 40,000 households, while major cultural venues such as the Shanghai Museum East and Pudong Art Museum opened to the public.
Green development also advanced, with 150 new parks built since 2020 and air quality improvements pushing the share of good days above 90 percent.