An aerial view of Lingang area, Shanghai, on Aug 6, 2019 [Photo/IC]

Service industry becomes new growth engine for Shanghai's development

Shanghai municipal government announced a total of 40 policies in seven areas to further open up the city's service industry, according to a news conference held on Aug 13.

The policies, aiming to further enhance Shanghai's competitiveness in international cooperation, suggest further easing market access for foreign service enterprises, opening up cross-border service trade and promoting trade liberalization and facilitation.

More efforts will also be made to develop digital trade, modern shipping services and financial services, the policies said.

Xu Kunlin, vice mayor of Shanghai, said that the policies have an active role to play in helping Shanghai become an international trade center and set a benchmark for China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone in the service industry.

Official statistics reveal that Shanghai introduced 4,105 foreign-funded projects from January to July, a year-on-year increase of 58.3 percent. The contractual foreign investment rose 9.6 percent to $27.55 billion in the first seven months.

Lingang New Area to set new benchmarks

This January, US electric carmaker Tesla Inc broke new ground with its Shanghai factory in the Lingang area of Pudong, becoming the first to benefit from a new policy allowing foreign carmakers to set up wholly-owned subsidiaries in China.

Now, the Lingang area has been added to the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, marking another significant opening-up measure of Shanghai.

Some opening-up policies will be piloted in Shanghai FTZ, which will help the area to set a benchmark in service sector, Xu noted.

According to Zhu Min, deputy director of Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission, the overall development plan of Lingang area regarding investment, trade, capital flow, transportation, personnel management and internet connectivity are also referred in the policies.

Lingang area will step up its efforts in opening up and create a platform that allows for the free flow of resources, and contribute to China's integration into the global economic landscape, said Zhu.