On the morning of March 23, the Information Office of Shanghai Municipality held a press briefing. Kong Fu’an, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and executive deputy director of the Hongqiao International Central Business District Administration, introduced the achievements of Hongqiao International Central Business District on the fifth anniversary of the launch of Hongqiao International Open Hub. Chen Guozhong, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Wu Qiang, chief of Minhang District, Liu Ping, chief of Changning District, Jin Xiaoming, chief of Qingpu District, and Gao Xiang, chief of Jiading District, attended the press briefing and answered questions from reporters. Over the past five years, the business district has seen its key economic indicators double following the full implementation of the Overall Plan for the Construction of the Hongqiao International Open Hub. Regional GDP has surpassed 200 billion yuan, tax revenue has risen from 26.8 billion yuan to 51.8 billion yuan, and the number of registered corporate entities has nearly doubled from 49,000 to close to 100,000. All targets set under the 14th Five-Year Plan have been successfully achieved. The following outlines the district’s development achievements across four key areas.First, we introduced the major business highlights. We saw strong momentum in the headquarters economy. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the business district added 210 city-level recognized headquarters enterprises, bringing the total to 283, up from 73 in 2020, an average annual increase of more than 40. In the past year alone, 45 new city-level headquarters enterprises were established, generating combined annual revenue of 280 billion yuan, including one company exceeding 100 billion yuan and seven with revenue above 10 billion yuan.We saw enhanced support for enterprises going global. The Hongqiao Overseas Development Service Center has been established, integrating government, public, and professional services into a one-stop platform for outbound enterprises. It has introduced three service lists, covering policies, services, and outbound activities, to streamline support. Institutions such as the Belt and Road High-Quality Development Promotion Association of the Yangtze River Delta have been set up to strengthen regional collaboration and jointly build platforms with cities across the Yangtze River Delta, including the region’s first service station dedicated to helping enterprises expand overseas. Meanwhile, more than 50 international trade and investment promotion organizations have clustered in the district, connecting with over 150 countries and regions to advance trade facilitation, professional services, and industrial matchmaking.We saw accelerated clustering of international professional services. The number of professional service providers has doubled, attracting high-quality institutions across accounting, legal services, human resources, testing, inspection, and certification. The Hongqiao International Central Legal Services District now hosts 184 legal service institutions, while the China Shanghai Human Resource Service Industrial Zone Hongqiao Park is home to 324 enterprises. Construction of the Hongqiao International Quality Inspection and Technical Service Cluster is progressing steadily.We saw strengthened functions of the international trade center platform. Total import and export value doubled from 56.8 billion yuan to 102.7 billion yuan. Trade in services has exceeded 120 billion yuan, accounting for 7.45% of the city’s total. The district is advancing the development of the “Silk Road E-commerce” demonstration zone, with trade with partner countries maintaining double-digit growth for three consecutive years. Cross-border e-commerce imports through Hongqiao’s B-type bonded warehouses account for roughly half of the city’s total orders and sales. The city’s first “cross-border e-commerce + industrial belt” pilot zone has been established, bringing together 345 related enterprises. Meanwhile, a live-streaming economy cluster is taking shape, with leading platforms recording transaction value exceeding 40 billion yuan, and efforts are underway to build the city’s first global supply chain management center cluster.We introduced major sci-tech innovation highlights. We saw accelerated clustering of sci-tech innovation platforms. Construction of the Hongqiao Sci-Tech Innovation Service Center is underway, aimed at building an integrated innovation ecosystem covering achievement display, commercialization, technology transactions, project incubation, intellectual property services, consulting, and tech finance. The Chinese Academy of Engineering Academician and Expert Achievement Display and Transformation Center has been established in Hongqiao, alongside the launch of the Shanghai Global Innovative Medical Device Exhibition and Training Center. Development of the country’s first brain-computer interface future industry cluster is gaining pace, with more than 40 leading enterprises and innovation teams already in place. The Global New Energy Empowerment Center has also commenced operations. Meanwhile, the Shanghai International Technology Market and its online platform INNOMATCH have attracted over 42,000 technology managers, with platform capabilities continuing to expand.We saw continued expansion of sci-tech enterprises. The business district is now home to about 24,000 sci-tech service companies. Among newly registered legal entities in 2025, such firms accounted for the largest share, exceeding 30%. The district currently hosts 1,183 high-tech enterprises, 785 national and municipal specialized and sophisticated enterprises, and 42 gazelle firms. It has also attracted more than 7,000 digital economy enterprises, over 3,600 companies across the automotive value chain, and more than 1,000 new energy firms, alongside more than 50 enterprises in the low-altitude economy sector. The rapid clustering of innovation-driven enterprises continues to gain momentum.We saw accelerated development of high-level R&D centers. A number of landmark projects have been completed and put into operation, including the Shanghai Midea Global Innovation Campus, the Innovent Biologics Global R&D Center, and the Porsche China R&D Hub. Meanwhile, key innovation platforms such as the Fudan University Hongqiao Medical Innovation Park and the SupeZET (Shanghai) Innovation Base are advancing rapidly. A new industrial collaboration model, driven by Hongqiao-based R&D, manufacturing in surrounding regions, and global application, is taking shape. As headquarters and corporate R&D centers continue to cluster, talent is also gathering at an accelerated pace. By 2025, the newly added resident population exceeded 88,000, underscoring a virtuous cycle in which top-tier talent supports industrial growth, and industrial development, in turn, attracts high-quality talent.We introduced major exhibition sector highlights. We saw expanding spillover effects of the CIIE. The spillover effects of the China International Import Expo (CIIE) continue to deepen, supported by an improved long-term mechanism that turns “exhibits into products and exhibitors into investors.” Offline, three major year-round exhibition and sales platforms, operating under a “6 days + 365 days” model, have been established, each generating annual transactions of around 10 billion yuan, alongside 68 branch centers within the Hongqiao Import Commodity Exhibition and Trade Center. Online, the 365tradefair.com enables efficient sharing of exhibition resources. During the 8th CIIE, five investment projects, including IFBH and Maybach, were launched in Hongqiao. The value of imported goods in the business district rose from 13.3 billion yuan in 2020 to 68.4 billion yuan in 2025.We saw accelerated progress in advancing Hongqiao as an international exhibition hub. The National Exhibition and Convention Center Shanghai ranks among the world’s largest exhibition venues, with international exhibitions accounting for over 80% of its total. The Hongqiao International Convention and Exhibition Industry Park has seen the number of exhibition-related enterprises grow from 140 to 534, further strengthening the industry ecosystem.We introduced major transportation highlights. We saw upgraded capacity at the transportation hub. Hongqiao has evolved into the world’s largest comprehensive transportation hub by passenger volume. In 2025, total passenger throughput reached 422 million, with average daily traffic exceeding 1.15 million and peak single-day volume hitting 1.71 million. Passenger traffic at Hongqiao Airport surpassed 50 million for the first time, with express flights accounting for 72%, the highest share among airports nationwide.We saw a more efficient multi-level transport network. The airport link line has been completed and is now operational, enabling 40-minute transfers between Hongqiao and Pudong airports. The west extension of Metro Line 2 has also opened, while major projects, including the west extension of Line 13, the Demonstration Zone Line, the Jia-Min Line, and key road upgrades such as the G15 Jiading-Jinshan section expansion, G50 widening, and the S20 Outer Ring western upgrade, are progressing steadily. Several inter-district connector roads, including Longlian Road, Lintao Road, and Xinghong West Road, have been completed and opened, further improving regional connectivity.Standing at the outset of the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the business district will continue to serve national strategies, strengthen its core functions, and advance the development of a world-class open hub. It will further enhance its major business capabilities, enrich its convention and exhibition ecosystem, leverage its transportation advantages, and deepen the role of sci-tech innovation as key growth drivers. Efforts will focus on accelerating the development of a Yangtze River Delta manufacturing and R&D cluster, as well as building a first-stop service platform to support regional enterprises in expanding globally. Through these initiatives, Hongqiao aims to make a stronger contribution to the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, support Shanghai’s ambition to strengthen its role as “Five Centers,” and help advance the city’s transformation into a modern, socialist and international metropolis with global influence.