Shanghai Hongqiao CBD to woo more MNCs

Shanghai Hongqiao International Central Business District, a portal for China's deepened two-way opening-up, will further improve its strength in commerce, exhibitions, traffic and technological innovation to prepare for high-quality development during the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period, said officials and company executives.

The district, which celebrates its fifth anniversary of establishment this year, saw its GDP top 200 billion yuan ($29.26 billion) in 2025, nearly doubling the size seen in 2020. Tax revenue reached 51.8 billion yuan in 2025, up from 26.8 billion yuan in 2020, while the number of registered companies is now close to 100,000, compared to 49,000 in 2020, said Kong Fu'an, Party secretary of the CBD's administrative committee.

The CBD is now home to the regional headquarters of 283 companies, among which 210 have been established over the past five years. A total of 45 companies launched their regional headquarters in the district last year, with their combined sales revenue reaching 280 billion yuan.

To better address companies' outbound reach, the CBD has rolled out a number of policies and government services, facilitating the overseas expansion moves of over 9,000 companies. The district has also gathered more than 50 investment trade service providers, facilitating trade and connecting industries in over 150 countries and regions, according to Kong.

According to Yang Jie, vice-chairman of KPMG China, a large number of companies have moved their regional headquarters or established a similar presence in the district to get closer to the multiple service institutions and further improve efficiency.

KPMG's 14,000-square-meter office space in the CBD was put into use two years ago. The district's regional advantages can help KPMG better connect clients in the Yangtze River Delta region with the rest of the world. This is in line with Chinese companies' continued steps regarding internationalization, industrialization and opening-up, she said.

Up to 24,000 technology service enterprises have been operating in the CBD. The district now hosts over 7,000 digital economy enterprises, 3,600 automotive industry chain enterprises, 1,000 new energy enterprises, and over 50 companies specializing in the low-altitude economy. China's first brain-computer interface future industrial cluster is located in the district, attracting over 40 high-capability enterprises and innovation teams.

Thanks to the concentration of technology and industrial companies and facilities, the CBD saw its incremental population exceed 88,000 people last year.

Weiheng Medical Technology Co Ltd, a subsidiary of the Shandong province-based Weigao Group, set up an international research institute in the CBD last year, mainly thanks to the open platforms connecting resources from all over the world and the innovation-focused industrial ecosystem there, according to Huang Xuesong, Weiheng's vice-general manager.

"Various facilities, such as the innovation center for gene therapy, are under construction in the district. A large number of companies will see their new projects delivered in the near term. All these will further complete the industrial clusters here and bring in more international clients. We will also relocate more talent from the Shandong headquarters to Shanghai to be more deeply rooted in the biomedicine industrial ecosystem in the district," he said.