People walk on East Nanjing Road Walkway in Shanghai, east China, Jan. 14, 2021. China's gross domestic product (GDP) exceeded the 100-trillion-yuan (15.42 trillion U.S. dollars) threshold as it posted a 2.3 percent year-on-year expansion to 101.5986 trillion yuan in 2020, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Monday. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)
SHANGHAI, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Shanghai has recently unveiled the fourth version of its plan to create better business environment, with 207 tasks outlined, according to Gong Zheng, the city's major, at a press conference on Wednesday.
Despite all achievements made in recent years, "there is no end to create better business environment in Shanghai", said the mayor.
Gong attributed to the growth in foreign investment last year to the improved business environment.
The city's actual use of foreign capital in 2020 reached 20.23 billion yuan, an annual
increase of 6.2 percent.
According to the government work report released during the city's "two sessions", 51 regional headquarters of multinational companies and 20 foreign R&D centers were set up in Shanghai in 2020, bringing the total to 771 and 481, respectively.
The new developments have made the city one of the most important hubs for the global headquarters economy.
Shanghai will further open up by launching pilots in the opening-up of service sector and pushing forwards opening-up in such sectors as telecommunications, the Internet, medical service and culture industry, said the mayor, adding that multinationals are welcomed to launch projects and provide services, seizing the business opportunities emerged in Shanghai.
Gong also expressed confidence in holding the fourth China International Import Expo (CIIE).
The third CIIE was held in Shanghai last November as scheduled despite the pandemic woes, with deals for intended one-year purchases of goods and services worth more than 72.6 billion U.S. dollars reached, up 2.1 percent from the expo held in 2019.
(Edited by Li Shimeng with Xinhua Silk Road, lishimeng@xinhua.org)
A single purchase
