On the morning of yesterday (September 19), the Information Office of Shanghai Municipality held the 12th press briefing on “High-Quality Development in Shanghai” (Jing’an District special session) under the theme of “International Jing’an as Urban Area of Excellence, Creating a Chinese-style Modern Urban Model.” Yu Yong, Secretary of the CPC Jing’an District Committee, introduced the details of Jing’an District’s achievements and work plans for promoting high-quality economic and societal development. Wang Hua, deputy Party Secretary and chief of Jing’an District, Zhao Jianfeng, director of Jing’an District Development and Reform Commission, Shen Hong, director of Jing’an District Commission of Commerce, and Sun Zhongfeng, director of Jing’an District Science and Technology Commission, attended the press briefing and answered questions from reporters.As a prominent urban district, Jing’an District has consistently remained at the forefront of Shanghai’s development. In recent years, Jing’an District has remained steadfast in its commitment to following the principles of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. It has wholeheartedly, accurately, and comprehensively embraced the new development paradigm, actively contributed to the broader development objectives of both the nation and Shanghai, accelerated the establishment of an exemplary, modern, international metropolis, and has made notable strides along a path of high-quality development distinctive to Jing’an.Firstly, the district has fortified its advantages on economic density. In response to evolving external conditions, the district has strategically concentrated its efforts on pivotal facets of economic development. It has harmoniously and vigorously pursued the comprehensive realization of objectives such as “boosting the impetus for scientific and technological innovation, elevating investment quality, fortifying the headquarters economy’s vitality, enhancing key industry efficiency, maximizing land productivity, fostering major project growth, and improving service efficiency.” Notably, the implementation of the “Seven Growth Plans” has propelled both the economic scale and density to unprecedented heights. Last year, Jing’an District’s district-level general public budget revenue reached 27.942 billion yuan, maintaining its reign as the top revenue earner in the central urban area for seven consecutive years. Throughout this journey, the development of the building-centric economy has been identified as a pivotal avenue for augmenting economic density. Following the milestones of being home to Shanghai’s first buildings with taxation exceeding 100 million yuan per year, 100 million yuan per month, and 200 million yuan per month, 2021 marked a historic moment with Plaza 66 becoming the city’s inaugural building that contributed yearly tax revenue valued at 10 billion yuan. Last year, Jing’an District boasted 82 buildings with yearly tax contribution of over 100 million yuan each, 10 buildings with 100 million yuan per month, and one building with 10 billion yuan per year. Presently, diligent efforts are underway to forge a novel building-centric economic landscape characterized by the concentration of regions, industries, enterprises and functions. Anticipations are high that the total count of buildings with taxation of more than 100 million yuan per year each during the 14th Five-Year Plan period will exceed 100.Secondly, the district has notably fortified its advantages on urban functions. In unwavering alignment with Shanghai’s overarching vision to establish its “Five Centers” and bolster the “Four Functions,” Jing’an District has been steadfastly concentrating on advancing the pillars of “headquarters impact, service empowerment, and consumption leadership.” This steadfast focus has continuously propelled urban functions to unprecedented levels. Of paramount importance is the district’s commitment to harnessing the commanding influence of “headquarters.” Here, there is a fervent endeavor to expedite the establishment of a multifaceted, intricate, and globally-integrated headquarters economic system. Jing’an District currently hosts 120 regional headquarters of multinational corporations, 23 private enterprise headquarters, 14 trade headquarters, and 10 foreign-funded R&D centers. This consolidated function as the epicenter for “gathering in Jing’an, extending to Shanghai, serving the nation, and connecting with the world” has experienced a remarkable augmentation. Leveraging the invaluable resource of “services,” the district has been vigorously advancing its global service provider initiative. This entails accelerating the aggregation of internationally competitive high-end service institutions and international economic organizations, while facilitating the global outreach of local enterprises. Jing’an District is now home to 43 globally-renowned high-end professional service institutions, constituting one-third of the city’s total. Additionally, Jing’an District has been skillfully wielding its “consumption” trump card, intensifying efforts to deepen the construction of the urban demonstration area for Shanghai’s initiative on building an international consumption center city. At present, more than 70% of the world’s “Top 100” renowned brands have chosen to establish a presence in Jing’an, resulting in three consecutive years of ranking first in the central areas for total retail sales of consumer goods. Notably, West Nanjing Road stands as a preeminent commercial district in Shanghai, featuring over 2,000 well-known domestic and foreign brands, including one-third of the city’s high-profile flagship stores. Last year, the total retail sales within this bustling business district exceeded 80 billion yuan. This year, the launch of the “100-billion-yuan business district” initiative on West Nanjing Road is on the horizon, with a primary focus on establishing it as the global epicenter for product debuts, the preferred destination for high-end brands, and the gathering place for Chinese brands. The ultimate aim is to elevate the total annual retail sales to surpass 100 billion yuan within the 14th Five-Year Plan period, thereby crafting a truly world-class landmark business district.Thirdly, the district’s capacity for agglomeration of high-end resources continued to flourish. Notably, Jing’an District’s service sector constitutes 96% of its economic composition, with a dedicated emphasis on “high-end agglomeration.” This strategic concentration extends across key sectors, including business services, financial services, professional services, data and smart industries, cultural and creative sectors, as well as life and health industries. The district is resolutely committed to “elevating capabilities, refining structures, bolstering momentum, enhancing efficiency, and improving brands,” all of which underpin its unwavering support for high-quality development. At present, Jing’an District has become a magnet for prestigious entities, hosting the world’s three largest luxury goods conglomerates, one-third of the global top 50 pharmaceutical giants, and one-third of the city’s core big data enterprises. Of particular note is the district’s keen focus on the burgeoning arena of the digital economy. It proactively orchestrates and advances the integrated development of “Cloud, Data, Intelligence, and Chain,” resulting in the congregation of over 1,700 data and intelligence-related companies. Within this landscape, numerous innovative frontrunners and discreet yet influential enterprises have emerged as hidden champions within their specialized niches. In a pivotal move, Jing’an District is harnessing the unique opportunity presented by the establishment of Shanghai’s exclusive nation-level comprehensive pilot area for innovative blockchain applications. The district’s efforts are channeled into the creation of a “Trusted Data Economic Pilot Zone” situated within Shibei Park. This pioneering initiative is deeply focused on leading developments in realms such as data integration, data circulation, and data trust. The ultimate goal is to transform the district into a central hub and vital node for the interconnected national data element marketplace.Fourthly, the district takes pride in offering a quality life enriched with desirable advantages. Its unwavering commitment revolves around the core principle of placing people at the forefront of high-quality development, deeply engraining the crucial concept of a city built for its citizens. The district utilizes the vehicle of the “five major projects” to allocate its finest resources to the people, sparing no effort to enhance the well-being of its residents. The ultimate vision is to create an urban haven that fulfills the aspirations of every individual. The “cohesion project” is actively underway, with Party building playing a pivotal role in galvanizing enthusiasm and creativity across all facets of the community. This concerted effort aims to fortify the foundation for high-quality development. The “livelihood project” is diligently addressing concerns related to renovation of old areas, elderly and child care, and livelihood challenges, advancing step by step on an annual basis. Notably, the renovation of 31 out of the remaining 47 scattered, substandard land plots in the 13th Five-Year Plan period is in full swing, while more than half of the dilapidated old housing units are undergoing comprehensive renovation. Innovative initiatives such as combining medical and nursing care and community-based daycare programs like “Baby House” have resulted in a continuous enhancement of the quality of life for residents. The “digital project” takes a pioneering stance, spearheading the exploration of a novel smart city management model, characterized by a triad of the “Internet of Things, Digitalization, and Intelligence.” The district is at the forefront of constructing an all-encompassing community governance intelligent platform, founded on “data sharing and digital empowerment,” thereby catalyzing governance modernization through digital transformation. Under the “brand project” umbrella, Jing’an District holds the distinction of being Shanghai’s inaugural national civilized urban area, a distinction it has upheld to this day. Its commitment to advancing urban refinement management demonstration areas is unwavering, consistently ranking at the forefront in public satisfaction evaluations for city appearance and environmental quality. In the first half of this year, Jing’an Temple Sub-district, West Nanjing Road Sub-district, and Shimen No.2 Road Sub-district have once again secured their positions among the top three sub-districts in the city in the public satisfaction evaluation of urban aesthetics and environmental quality. Lastly, the “cornerstone project” places a sharp focus on systematic, small-scale, and pragmatic grassroots governance training, a strategy geared towards enhancing grassroots governance capabilities. This effort, in turn, lays the foundation for a better quality of life to flourish and thrive within the district.The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has unequivocally emphasized that the paramount objective is to achieve high-quality development while comprehensively building a modern socialist nation. On this new journey, Jing’an District is resolutely committed to upholding the “Four Priorities,” remaining unwavering in its mission and responsibilities. We are fully dedicated to translating the visionary framework articulated by the General Secretary and the CPC Central Committee into tangible plans for Jing’an. Our aim is to convert the strategic directives from the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee and Shanghai Municipal Government into detailed “blueprints” for the district, ultimately transforming these blueprints into vibrant “masterpieces” in the form of tangible achievements. We aspire to serve as an exemplar of high-quality development.Firstly, we are prioritizing reform and opening up as our linchpin strategy. We will steadfastly pursue both “bringing in” and “going out” initiatives, meticulously executing the Global Service Provider Initiative and Headquarters Enhancement Action. By doing so, we aim to bolster our ability to allocate resource elements on a broader scale. Simultaneously, we are committed to elevating the standard of trade and investment facilitation. We will actively engage with the development of the Shanghai National Service Trade Innovation and Development Demonstration Zone, establishing a “High-Quality Product Import Demonstration Zone” across Jing’an. Our goal is to fashion an “import trade hub” with robust capacities, strong impact and international competitiveness, while serving as a focal point for high-quality imported product distribution. This endeavor positions Jing’an as a pioneering force in the journey of further opening-up.Secondly, we are prioritizing technological innovation as the primary driving force. We are committed to delving deep into critical domains, including big data, blockchain, chip design, and data security. We aim to construct an open platform for digital technology innovation, leveraging the predominant role of enterprises, and relentlessly pursuing breakthroughs in cutting-edge and foundational technology realms. Concurrently, we are directing our focus toward future industries such as XR terminal research and development, digital health technology innovation, synthetic biology, gene therapy, and green, low-carbon technology. Our goal is to accelerate the nurturing and maturation of novel sources of development momentum. With a heightened emphasis on robust technological advancements and emerging sectors, we are vigorously implementing the “100 Enterprises Growth” initiative. We are instituting a comprehensive life-cycle cultivation mechanism and enhancing support via a tailored one-policy-for-one-enterprise approach. This strategy is poised to empower more exceptional local enterprises to rise and flourish, ultimately becoming towering figures within their respective domains.Thirdly, we are leveraging urban renewal as a pivotal catalyst for progress. Our focus is set on four core functional areas, namely West Nanjing Road, Suhewan, Daning, and Shibei, where we aim to establish a premier central business district spanning over 4.5 million square meters. Our approach emphasizes a harmonious blend of government guidance, market-driven operations, and active public involvement. In this endeavor, we are innovating methods to breathe new life into industrial land, implementing a bespoke one-policy-for-one-park approach for underperforming industrial parks, and intensifying the transformation and modernization of existing buildings. An exemplary achievement in this vein is the completion and public opening of the Zhangyuan Garden, a landmark project in Shanghai’s urban renewal landscape. It has garnered a highly positive response following the inauguration of its west zone late last year. Jing’an District remains unwavering in its commitment to the guiding principles of “preservation first, culture as the essence, and a people-centric approach.” We aim to construct this project to the highest standards of quality, embodying a century of excellence. Through this endeavor, we aspire to craft high-quality spaces that seamlessly integrate preservation and utilization, infusing fresh impetus into our development trajectory and setting the stage for new city landmarks.Fourthly, we are leveraging environmental construction as a foundational pillar. We are committed to benchmarking the highest global standards and best practices, while also delving deeper into the reform principles of “streamlining the government, delegating power, and improving government services.” Our ongoing objective is to cultivate a market-driven, legally sound, and internationally renowned business ecosystem of the utmost caliber. Our concentrated efforts are channeled towards becoming exemplary servant, bolstering our comprehensive service system for enterprises across their entire life cycle. We aim to inspire all forms of market entities to invest with confidence and flourish in Jing’an. Concurrently, we are steadfast in our commitment to implementing the Jing’an Talent action plan, in a bid to provide the finest and most convenient developmental environment for talents of all kinds, thereby expediting the establishment of an international talent hub. We are taking a two-pronged strategy of simultaneously enhancing both infrastructure and soft services. Our ultimate vision is to craft an urban environment that seamlessly caters to residents’ needs, encompassing every facet of daily life — be it work, leisure, shopping, or travel. Our aim is to instill a sense of pride in Jing’an’s residents, to allure those who’ve experienced the district’s charm, and to captivate the imagination of those who’ve yet to visit. We are resolute in our pursuit of turning Jing’an into a living testament — an urban model exemplifying the essence of Chinese-style modernization.