Shanghai's Huangpu district has been committed to high-level opening-up in past years and won wide recognition from foreign enterprises at the Huangpu District Foreign Investment Promotion Conference, which concluded at the end of October.

Huangpu's efforts in expanding opening-up and the strong resilience of its economy have made it a hot investment destination for global investors.

Faced with downward pressure and challenges due to the complicated external environment and domestic COVID-19 cases in the past three years, Huangpu has been trying to make the most of the brightening dynamic in its market and ensure healthy and stable economic development.

According to official data, in the past 10 years, Huangpu's GDP rose from 136.84 billion yuan ($19 billion) in 2012 to 290.24 billion yuan in 2021, increasing by more than 112 percent, and ranking first among Shanghai's downtown areas.

Over the past 10 years, the development level of Huangpu's financial sector has significantly increased. Shanghai is now home to 14 national-level financial factor markets, six of which are located in Huangpu. Huangpu is currently home to 664 licensed financial institutions, and nearly 1,200 financial institutions.

"We have made the most correct decision to set up the company in Huangpu," said Zhangn Yong, president of Aiswei Technology.

At the Shanghai Global Investment Promotion Conference 2022, which was held in Shanghai via online and offline channels on June 16, Huangpu witnessed contract signings worth more than 42 billion yuan for seven major industrial projects, including the Shanghai headquarters project of Aiswe Technology.

During the period, the commerce and trade sector in Huangpu also witnessed sharp growth. In November, the bustling Xintiandi business area in the district was listed among the National Demonstration Zones for Creative Promotion of Import Trade, and is the only area of its kind in downtown Shanghai. The district also launched the extension project of the pedestrian street in 2019, which will help Shanghai become a world-class shopping city and boost its status as an international tourist destination.

New business models such as the first-store economy, nighttime economy, and festival economy are also booming in Huangpu. In recent years, 300 well-known brands from home and abroad have set up their first stores and flagship stores in the district, all of which have injected new impetus into Huangpu's consumption sector.

From 2012 to 2021, Huangpu completed a great number of housing renovation projects, benefiting nearly 100,000 households in old residential areas. The urban landscape has also changed dramatically.

Guided by the principle that cities should be built by the people and for the people, the local government has worked to solve problems of the greatest, most immediate, and most practical concern to the people.

In this August, Shanghai issued a list of the first 18 15-minute community life circle pilot zones, and the Ruijin Erlu community in Huangpu was one of them. Currently, Huangpu is accelerating its pace in promoting the "15-minute neighborhood" concept and improving its development layout, aiming to strengthen the design of such "15-minute circles" and expand their coverage in the district.