(Yicai Global) March 23 -- The Shanghai-Beijing Investment Cooperation Promotion Conference was held in China’s capital city this morning, attracting almost 200 local enterprises. Co-sponsored by the Shanghai government, it was the first stop of the ‘Invest in Shanghai National Tour.’

The Beijing companies attending the conference encompassed a number of key industries, including artificial intelligence, biomedicine, high-end equipment, automobiles, electronic information, digital economy, and financial services, Yicai Global learned.

Shanghai is accelerating the construction of a modern industrial system, and a large pool of businesses, talent, and capital is needed to further promote the city’s industrial development, Wang Dong, director of the official Shanghai Investment Promotion and Service Center, told reporters.

Explaining the choice of Beijing as the first stop of the nationwide tour, Wang noted that the capital is the country’s center of politics, culture, international exchange, and science and technology innovation. And, it is a model for Shanghai to learn from in developing local high-tech industries.

At today’s event, two of Shanghai’s districts, Hongkou and Minhang, signed contracts for a total of nine major projects, covering the sectors of new materials, high-end gear, digital economy, the metaverse, and financial services.

Wang also introduced Shanghai’s “new philosophy” to lure investment. The city is giving more weight to potential projects’ unique advantages in such areas as the specific industry they belong to, future growth potential, and the management team’s competence, rather than the traditional measures such as expected tax
revenue, annual profit, and what business licenses it has, Wang said.

He said that Shanghai attaches great importance to the leading role of talent in industrial development and has an inclusive talent introduction policy. The aim is to make every newcomer to Shanghai feel comfortable and enjoy life and the protection of the local social security system.

“For special talent such as entrepreneurs, we also have some special policies that can be applied on a case by case basis to ensure that everyone can stay in Shanghai with peace of mind,” Wang said.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Peter Thomas