Action plan to boost imports in Shanghai

Shanghai's Huaihai Xintiandi will facilitate more imports as part of a latest action plan, local government officials and company executives said.

Huaihai Xintiandi, which spans 1.41 square kilometers in central Shanghai, will be the headquarters for a greater number of companies, lead new consumption trends and introduce more innovative service models by 2027, according to an action plan jointly released by the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, Shanghai Customs and the Huangpu district government on Monday.

As per the plan, Huaihai Xintiandi will be further developed as an innovative demonstration area for imports, with the annual import value expected to exceed 100 billion yuan ($14 billion) and annual sales revenue of goods touching 200 billion yuan by the end of 2027.

Consumer goods retailers with a minimum annual turnover of 20 million yuan are expected to make up for at least 30 percent of all companies registered in Huaihai Xintiandi, the action plan has outlined.

The plan is in line with a decision by the Ministry of Commerce in November to add 29 national-level import demonstration zones, including Huaihai Xintiandi, in China.

According to Wang Nai, deputy director of the local government of Huangpu district, Huaihai Xintiandi is a snapshot of Huangpu, which is characterized by a large number of world-renowned landmarks and business activities such as Hermes Maison Shanghai and Shanghai Fashion Week.

These make Huaihai Xintiandi a key portal to showcase imported goods and expand trade, Wang said.

More than 3,500 companies have registered in the district, and have hired nearly 80,000 people, data provided by the Huangpu district government showed.

Of the 98.2 billion yuan in import value realized in Huangpu last year, the Huaihai Xintiandi area contributed nearly 47 percent.

During the first four months of this year, Huangpu's total import value spiked 97.4 percent year-on-year to exceed 48.8 billion yuan, overtaking all the other areas in Shanghai.

Huaihai Xintiandi took much of the credit for that achievement, according to officials from the district.

The demonstration area will further facilitate, and lower the cost of, imports for companies, said He Yifan, senior vice-president of film technology company IMAX in China.

Since Huaihai Xintiandi is located in the heart of Shanghai, it is already conducive to high-end cultural and tourism demand. IMAX will combine more content creation, frontier technologies and immersive experiences to foster innovative consumption experiences, she said.

Shen Weihua, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, said Shanghai is the only Chinese city with three national-level import demonstration zones.

Waigaoqiao Bonded Area, located in eastern Shanghai, is the first import demonstration zone of its kind, while Shanghai Hongqiao International Central Business District, which is adjacent to the venue of the China International Import Expo annual pageant, is another synchronized demonstration zone set to extend the spillover effect of the Expo, Shen said.