Its tertiary industry, or service sector, accounts for over 70 percent of the city’s GDP and is still rapidly growing. Shanghai is transforming into a post-industrial economy. This shows a remarkable recovery from the 1.7 percent growth in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Shanghai’s GDP broke the four trillion mark in 2021, reaching a total of RMB 4.32 trillion (US$643.85 billion) in 2021, a year-on-year growth rate of 8.1 percent. These include tax relief measures, fee cuts, and rent waivers, with added support going to small businesses and companies in impacted sectors. While the lockdown has caused significant disruption to the city’s economy, the municipal government has released a range of relief measures to support companies impacted by the restrictions and restart the economy. Shanghai is currently in the process of recovery after a strict two-month city-wide lockdown which lifted on June 1, 2022. In addition, Shanghai owns one of the two stock exchanges in mainland China - the Shanghai Stock Exchange - and is home to some of the country’s top universities, including Fudan University and Shanghai Jiaotong University. It is also a core port for domestic and international trade, with the value of its imports and exports accounting for 20 percent of the country’s total. With the highest GDP of any mainland Chinese city and half of its economic activity contributed by non-public enterprises, Shanghai is an economically vibrant and popular destination for private and foreign investment. It is regarded as the center of Yangtze River Delta (YRD) economic circle, the richest mega city cluster per capita in China.

Located at the mouth of the Yangtze River on China’s east-central coast, Shanghai is surrounded by Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces to the north, west, and south, and the East China Sea to the east. Today, it boasts significant finance, trade, and shipping industries, including the world’s largest port by cargo throughput. With a storied history of foreign economic and cultural exchange, Shanghai is known as mainland China’s most international city. Alongside Beijing, Chongqing, and Tianjin, it is one of four municipalities directly controlled by the central government. Shanghai is mainland China’s commercial capital and most populous city.

Shanghai venture capital company