Officials: Shanghai growing in stature as financial powerhouse

Shanghai had by 2020 built itself into an international financial center that reflected China's economic strength as well as the international status of the Chinese yuan, and this has laid a solid foundation for the city's development in the future, officials said on Tuesday.

Over the past decade, Shanghai's financial market has made great progress and its core functions as a financial center has been constantly strengthened, said Xin Yadong, Party secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Finance Bureau.

The expansion of the financial market has strongly supported Shanghai's economic high-quality development, noted Sun Hui, deputy director of the Shanghai head office of the People's Bank of China.

Sun pointed out that Shanghai's GDP more than doubled from 2.13 trillion yuan ($700 million) in 2012 to 4.32 trillion yuan in 2021, and the trading volume of the city's financial market had grown about four-fold from 528 trillion yuan in 2012 to 2,511 trillion yuan in 2021.

According to Xin, Shanghai accounted for about half of all cross-border renminbi settlements in China.

Xin said the deepened financial reform and opening-up have provided effective support for the city's real economy. Over the years, Shanghai's direct financing from the capital market had expanded significantly from 3.9 trillion yuan in 2012 to 18.3 trillion yuan in 2021.

The science and technology innovation board at the Shanghai Stock Exchange is the result of the increased integration between Shanghai's roles as a financial center and a technological innovation center. As of the end of September, the city was home to 473 enterprises that have been listed.

The number of licensed financial institutions in the city rose from 1,227 at the end of 2012 to 1,719 in late June this year, and there are currently some 470,000 people working in the city's financial sector.

Constant efforts to optimize Shanghai's financial business environment has also enhanced its influence as a financial center, Xin added.