Waigaoqiao Bonded Area. [Photo/pudong.gov.cn]

Waigaoqiao Bonded Area lies at the estuary of the Yangtze River. It covers two special customs areas totaling 11.03 square kilometers — the Shanghai Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone and the Shanghai Waigaoqiao Free Trade Logistics Park. These areas are engaged in fields such as international trade, modern and cross-border logistics, and financial services.

In 2025, the Shanghai Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone achieved several significant economic milestones, recording an operating revenue of 5.86 billion yuan ($865 million). Total assets grew 3.42 percent to 47.67 billion yuan, while net assets surged 22.35 percent to 15.94 billion yuan. The debt-to-asset ratio improved by 5.3 percentage points to 65.55 percent.

In addition, the zone attracted $1.42 billion in paid-in foreign capital, a 45.7 percent year-on-year increase, and a total of 755 new enterprises were established, including 115 foreign-funded firms.

Waigaoqiao has emerged as a biomedical powerhouse, introducing 100 new projects and bringing its total number of registered biomedical enterprises to over 900. The zone's biomedical industry revenue reached 337.6 billion yuan, accounting for one-third of Shanghai's total. The value of imported drugs and medical devices hit 132.9 billion yuan, representing 79 percent of the city's total. The zone also facilitated $8.78 billion in agency trade of goods.

Looking ahead to 2026, the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), Waigaoqiao will position itself as a leader in integrating free trade and technological innovation, advancing high-quality industrial development through strategic coordination, institutional breakthroughs and enhanced integrated services.