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Business丨Shanghai eyes stronger services backed by tech

CHINADAILY · 公众号 · 时评 · 2025-03-21 10:50

正文

The high-quality development of Shanghai's services sector should better serve technological advancement and boost consumption, the city's municipal government said in a recent guideline.

According to the guideline, which contains 31 detailed measures, the services sector must further consolidate its role as an economic driver, seek new growth momentum, better stimulate consumption and create a quality ecosystem.

While the services sector grew 5.7 percent year-on-year and contributed 78.2 percent to Shanghai's GDP last year, or more than 4.2 trillion yuan ($580 billion), the number of high-level service providers is still limited and the services provided are not diversified enough, said Qiu Wenjin, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission, in a news briefing on Monday.

▲ Diners eat at a restaurant in Shanghai on Feb 4. The city's services sector grew 5.7 percent year-on-year and contributed 78.2 percent to Shanghai's GDP last year. Photo provided to China Daily

Service providers have not invested enough in digitalization and they need to show improvement in their overall international competitiveness. Meanwhile, the services sector has much room for growth in contributing to consumption, Qiu said.

It is against this backdrop that the new guideline has been released.

In the guideline, more attention has been paid to those service providers — such as information services, technology services, entertainment, healthcare and catering — who can stabilize growth, generate more jobs and expand consumption, he added.

To address the development needs of new quality productive forces, the construction of high-quality incubators, proof-of-concept centers and other platforms for the transformation of scientific and technological achievements will be supported.

Companies developing large language models will be aided in setting up industry funds. Technology service companies and institutions will gain access to the city's special technology loans to reduce costs, according to the new guideline.