(Yicai Global) Jan. 11 -- Shanghai’s gross industrial output exceeded CNY4 trillion (USD590.4 billion) last year as the city’s economic indicators stay strong despite recurring outbreaks of Covid-19.

High-end manufacturing contributed considerably to the city’s economic output, according to a goverment work report delivered by Mayor Gong Zheng today. The value-added output from the integrated circuit, biopharmaceutical and artificial intelligence sectors amounted to over a quarter of total industrial output at CNY1.4 trillion (USD206.7 billion).

This reflects Shanghai’s strong positioning and strengths in high-end manufacturing, Tao Chuanliang, executive vice president of CCID (Shanghai) Advanced Manufacturing Research Institute, told Yicai Global.

The value-added output of Shanghai’s strategic and newly emerging industrial sectors has risen to 42 percent of the total output of industrial enterprises above a designated size from 30.8 percent in 2017, the report said. And this is set to rise to 45 percent over the next five years.

Shanghai has released a blueprint for four new segments, namely the metaverse, green and low-carbon development, smart terminals and digital economy, and is accelerating its positioning in fields such as future healthcare, future intelligence, future energies and future materials.

The metropolis is making the most of its pool of highly qualified talent to focus on business positioning in sectors related to the future and to reserve room for future industrial growth, Tao said.

Shanghai is putting an emphasis on developing the fields of electronic information, lifestyle and healthcare, automobiles, high-end equipment, advanced materials as well as fashionable consumer goods in the 14th Five Year Plan, which runs from 2021 – 2025, in order to form a new industrial system driven by the integrated circuit, biopharmaceutical and AI sectors.

Editors: Zhang Yushuo, Kim Taylor