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Invest Shanghai
Jing'an district, a core area in central urban Shanghai, is setting new benchmarks for modern urban development in China.
In 2024, its GDP reached 336.99 billion yuan ($47.4 billion), with per capita GDP rising to 360,000 yuan, 1.5 times that in 2020. District-level general public budget revenue stood at 30.22 billion yuan, ranking among the top in the city, according to a municipal news conference on Sept 16.
Strengthening core competitiveness
Jing'an is home to 92 buildings each contributing over 100 million yuan in annual tax revenue, the highest concentration in Shanghai's central area. Nine of these even achieve that figure every month.
Since 2021, the district has welcomed 991 first-to-market stores, transforming several landmark projects into global consumer hotspots. Retail sales of consumer goods now lead all central urban districts.
Since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), Jing'an has added 85 new headquarters across various types, bringing the cumulative total of multinational corporation regional headquarters to 142, among the most in the city.
The district's headquarters economy has achieved an annual average tax contribution growth of 11.1 percent.
Advancing industrial development
The number of internationally competitive professional service firms in Jing'an has grown from 48 at the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20) to 103 today, accounting for one-third of Shanghai's top-tier institutions.
The district leads the city with more than 18 percent revenue share in human resources, consulting, advertising, legal services, and quality inspection sectors. The professional services sector's tax contribution rose from 15.8 percent in 2020 to 22.1 percent last year.
Jing'an has also become a magnet for finance. Guotai Haitong Securities, one of the world's top 10 securities firms, has its headquarters firmly rooted in Jing'an after its restructuring.
Eight of the top 10 private equity firms on the PEI 300 ranking have established offices, and the district has been approved as one of the city's first equity investment and merger and acquisition clusters.
Commerce and trade services account for one-third of the district's economy, with total merchandise sales surpassing 1 trillion yuan since 2021. More than 60 percent of the top 200 tax-contributing enterprises come from this sector.
Emerging trade in services is accelerating, with offshore service outsourcing execution value increasing from $560 million at the end of 2020 to $1.47 billion.
Jing'an is also advancing in data intelligence, culture and creativity, and life sciences, hosting one-third of the city's core big data enterprises and one-third of the global top 50 pharmaceutical companies.
The district is seizing opportunities in blockchain, ultra-high-definition audiovisual, and beauty and health sectors to drive industrial upgrades.
Deepening reform and opening-up
From 2021 to 2024, Jing'an attracted 1,122 foreign direct investment projects, an increase of 220 compared to the 13th Five-Year Plan period. Contracted FDI reached $4.83 billion, up $210 million, with both scale and proportion leading the city's central urban area.
The district has built the city's first high-quality product import demonstration zone, established the country's first commercial center bonded warehouse in the Zhangyuan area, and pioneered application scenarios for the Free Trade Account. Its annual import and export volume during the first four years of the 14th Five-Year Plan period was 1.5 times that of the 13th Five-Year period.
Jing'an has also advanced its business environment with 693 measures, ranking among the city's best in evaluations.
From 2021 to the end of June this year, 47,600 new market entities were established, 1.8 times the number during the 13th Five-Year Plan period.