Trading function has been strengthened with more power on resource allocation

Expand the influence of “Shanghai Price” of commodities, accelerate transformation and upgrade of trade, and innovate distribution and trading patterns.

Platform economy is booming. The transaction volume in 2014 totaled 1.53 trillion yuan. Twenty-seven platforms exceeded 100 million yuan in terms of transaction volume per year. Modern logistics services provided explicit support to the development of retail and wholesale business. The percentage of logistics costs as of GDP has decreased to 15 percent, lower than the national average.

Trade in the Yangtze River Delta was growing rapidly. Reform of regional customs clearance integration has been launched and regional market integration and development mechanism has been officially established. Sixty-four percent of import and export via Shanghai port come from other provinces and cities.

Trading environment has been improved and facilitated

“Rules to Implement International Trade Center Initiative in Shanghai” has been fully enforced and the legal environment for trade development has been improved. Full access via ground, air and sea has taken shape. One-stop customs clearance model has been piloted in Shanghai port to realize categorized administration. “Single window” for international trade has been preliminarily established to cut 1/3 of the time for cargo clearance and 10 percent of logistics costs. The market is more open to business such as finance, education, healthcare, elderly care, e-business and manufacturing.

Zone and platforms have provided more support to traders

Shanghai FTZ has achieved a milestone in establishing a legal framework compatible to international trade practices. In 2014, 26.6 percent of the city’s import and export, 42.9 percent of new foreign-invested companies, and 28.8 of outbound investment were realized in the FTZ, making it an important platform for Shanghai’s international trade center initiative.

All 31 plots of lands in the core area of Hongqiao CBD have been transferred for development with a total floor space of over 5.55 million sq meters. Contracted foreign capital in the CBD grew at 4.1 times than the previous year, making it a new platform for Shanghai’s international trade center initiative.

National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) has been completed and tested with events. With this new center, the city has a total exhibition space of 1 million sq meters, ranking at the top among major cities in the world.

Full-functional modern commercial hubs with sound infrastructures have been established. The city has 150 shopping malls and Shanghai Shopping Festival and Shanghai Fashion Week have been iconic events for retail and fashion business.

The capacity of foreign trade transformation model zones, e-commerce model zones, modern service concentration zones has been improved and trade-related services such as inspection, ceritification, advertising, consulting and financial leasing are growing rapidly.

Services of China (Shanghai) Online International Trade Center website have been extended. Financial and business media such as Xinhua 08, Wind Info have expanded their influences and over 70 international media has established offices in Shanghai including Bloomberg and Reuters.