Since the implementation of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), Shanghai has taken the construction of Pudong New Area into a pioneer of China's socialist modernization as a driving force and fully leveraged the role of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone and its Lin-gang Special Area as testing grounds for reform and opening-up to conduct exploratory practices in establishing a new open economic system across broader fields and at deeper levels, according to Chen Yanfeng, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission.

Shanghai FTZ has created several "national firsts". For instance, it pioneered the expansion of value-added telecommunication services, with nine foreign-invested enterprises already approved. Nearly 40 foreign-invested enterprises have received the green light to conduct R&D and application trials in human stem cells, gene diagnosis, and treatment.

Luo Zhison, chief economist of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, highlighted Shanghai's status as a world-class trade port city. In 2024, the goods imported and exported through Shanghai ports were valued at 11.07 trillion yuan ($155.75 billion), up 26.5 percent from 2020, maintaining its leading position worldwide. The city's total foreign goods trade was valued at $2.81 trillion during the 14th Five-Year Plan, with an average annual compound growth rate exceeding 4 percent.

Shanghai remains a top investment destination for foreign businesses. Since 2021, the city has utilized over $98 billion in actual foreign investment, with over 5,700 foreign-invested enterprises newly established annually on average. The proportion of foreign investment in China from Shanghai increased from 14 percent in 2020 to 15.2 percent in 2024.

Chen emphasized that Shanghai will continue to promote high-level opening-up, strengthen overall planning and systematic integration of reforms, and accelerate the creation of a new hub with higher-level openness, a more favorable business environment, and wider influence.