(Yicai Global) Sept. 15 -- Shanghai’s three leading industries -- integrated circuits, biomedicine, and artificial intelligence -- were worth more than CNY1 trillion (USD143.6 billion) last year, as the eastern Chinese megacity speeds up the construction of a new industrial system with high-end manufacturing at its core.

Shanghai’s IC industry amounted to CNY250 billion (USD36 billion) in 2021, making up about a quarter of the sector’s total nationwide, We Jincheng, director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, said at a press conference yesterday. Biomedicine and AI reached CNY700 billion and CNY305.6 billion, respectively, he added.

To develop new industries, the city has been attracting investment by improving the business environment. “Shanghai built more than 30 projects with an investment of over CNY10 billion (USD1.4 billion) each and more than 250 projects with investments exceeding CNY1 billion (USD144 million) each over the past five years,” Wu added.

He also noted that it has hosted the Global Investment Promotion Conference for three years in a row, with a total of CNY1.5 trillion of contracts signed.

Since 2020, Shanghai has been optimizing its industrial space layout and set up 53 industrial parks covering a total of 2.1 million square meters for the development of emerging industries, Wu pointed out

Shanghai is focusing on the green and low-carbon, metaverse, and smart device industries to open up more development avenues for its new industrial system, according to a plan Wu unveiled at the press conference.

According to the plan, green and low-carbon industries, such as clean energy and resource recycling, will grow to CNY500 billion by 2025; the metaverse sector, including augmented reality and virtual reality, will reach CNY350 billion; while the smart devices field, including vehicles and service robots, will be worth CNY700 billion.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Futura Costaglione