Shanghai remains a top choice for foreign investment despite global challenges

With the establishment of 6,300 new foreign-funded enterprises in the city last year — an increase of 6.8 percent — Shanghai has continued to solidify its position as a prime destination for foreign investment.

Contracted foreign investment reached $18 billion, a growth of nearly 20 percent, Shen Weihua, director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, said during a press conference on Saturday, when the annual plenary sessions of the city's legislative and political advisory bodies closed.

"Such figures demonstrated Shanghai's enduring appeal as a preferred location for foreign investors and a strategic hub for multinational companies' global industrial and supply chain layouts, even amid current global challenges," he said.

Shen summarized Shanghai's current utilization of foreign capital as stable in scale, superior in quality, and dynamic in momentum.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), the actual use of foreign capital in Shanghai's high-tech industries reached 33 percent, an increase of 10 percentage points from the previous five years.

Also reflecting the quality of foreign investment, the number of regional headquarters of multinational companies and foreign-funded research and development centers has continued to rise, with a total of 1,076 and 636 recognized, respectively, by the end of last year, according to the commission.

In 2025, the city's actual use of foreign capital amounted to $16.06 billion. Although there was a slight decrease, the decline was reduced to a single digit, with Shanghai's share of the national total rising to 15.3 percent, ranking second among all provincial-level regions in the country, Shen said.

Shanghai will continue to expand high-level opening-up through aligning with international high-level economic and trade rules, steadily expanding institutional openness, deepening the national pilot program for expanding openness in the service industry, and advancing projects in key open pilot areas, such as telecommunications, healthcare, education, and finance, he said.

Another focus in the new year is to support the transformation and upgrading of foreign investment, guiding foreign enterprises to invest more in advanced manufacturing, modern services, high-tech, and energy-saving and environmental protection industries — further enhancing the capabilities of multinational regional headquarters and foreign R&D centers.

"I believe that in the new year, we will see further expansion and improvement in both the quality and scale of the city's foreign investment utilization," Shen said.

Additionally, Shen outlined the achievements in Shanghai's foreign trade development and the key focus areas for 2026 during the meeting.

Last year, Shanghai's foreign trade import and export scale surpassed 4.5 trillion yuan ($650 billion), setting new records for import, export, and total trade values, with growth rates exceeding national averages by 1.8, 4.7, and 1.3 percentage points, respectively.

Meanwhile, Shanghai's service trade grew steadily, accounting for roughly one-fourth of the national total and ranking first among Chinese cities.

"Shanghai has effectively responded to external challenges, driving foreign trade towards new and better development, and showcasing the strong resilience of its economic development and new momentum for high-quality growth," Shen said.