West Hongqiao Area drives digital economy growth

The West Hongqiao Area in Shanghai's Qingpu district, which is part of the Hongqiao International Central Business District (CBD), is currently concentrating its efforts on the digital economy, which is expected to drive the growth of the online economy in the district.

By leveraging the headquarters of smart manufacturing firms like Midea and TCL, the West Hongqiao Area is aiming to raise the value of its cluster of intelligent manufacturing industries to 100 billion yuan ($13.8 billion).

According to Ma Wenjuan, deputy general manager of Shanghai West Hongqiao Business Development Co Ltd, West Hongqiao offers a favorable innovation and business environment.

The upcoming Midea Global Innovation Park, which costs over 6 billion yuan and will occupy 400,000 square meters in the West Hongqiao Area, is expected to attract up to 10,000 research and development talents from around the world and become home to several intelligent technology and R&D headquarters, said Ma.

Ma added that the West Hongqiao Area is an ideal destination for digital economy investments because of its proximity to the Hongqiao transportation hub.