In 2013, pursuant to the Shanghai Municipal People's Government's "Notice on the Issuance of Provisions for Encouraging Multinational Corporations to Establish Regional Headquarters in Shanghai" (Shanghai Government Document [2011] No. 98), and following an official review, Kuehne & Nagel Ltd was recognized as the regional headquarters for the North Asia region. Its business scope was expanded accordingly to include operational management functions.
Kuehne+Nagel's official accreditation as a regional headquarters (RHQ) has affirmed its position as a key player in the region's logistics landscape. This designation has enhanced the company's market credibility, as well as strengthened its influence in trade policy discussions. Most importantly, it also aligned its operations with Shanghai's broader strategy to attract high-value foreign enterprises.
Benefiting from the city's dynamic international business environment, rich talent pool, advanced infrastructure, and supportive market access policies, the company has experienced sustained growth and operational success, further strengthening its competitive edge.
Kuehne+Nagel's expansion in China, anchored by its RHQ in Shanghai, underscores the country's pivotal role in the company's global logistics network. Today, the company operates in 35 locations across China and employs over 3,500 logistics professionals.
With China contributing more than one-third of Kuehne+Nagel's global container shipments and nearly 20% of its air freight volume, the company remains deeply embedded in the rhythm of global trade, reaffirming its long-term commitment to China's dynamic and growing influence in international commerce.

Stefan Paul, chief executive officer of Kuehne+Nagel Group

With the 15th Five-Year Plan on the horizon in 2026, Kuehne+Nagel, a wholly foreign-funded enterprise operating in China since 1979, seeks to contribute to this year's IBLAC by leveraging its unique perspective and deep operational experience in the region. The company aims to explore how an open headquarters economy can empower the new economy, using Shanghai's pragmatic approach to developing its headquarters ecosystem as a central case study.
Through an assessment of the current status, strengths, and challenges of Shanghai's headquarters landscape and by showcasing Kuehne+Nagel's role in enabling the global expansion of tech-driven enterprises, the paper analyses the city's distinctive position in global resource allocation.
In this paper, Kuehne+Nagel proposes a strategic initiative, the New Economy Headquarters Plan, designed to support the rapid global expansion of Chinese enterprises. This initiative presents a foreign-invested perspective aimed at strengthening Shanghai's headquarters economy while cultivating new engines of economic growth.
To implement this New Economy Headquarters Plan, Shanghai should consider better integrating industrial parks in the Yangtze River Delta into the city's emerging headquarters economy framework, which will enable a functional division model of "headquarters in Shanghai, manufacturing in the Yangtze River Delta, and markets across the globe."
The city should also consider building a global exchange brand to meet the growing needs of Chinese businesses expanding overseas. It should launch a Headquarters Economy Exchange Season positioned as a business-oriented counterpart to "Shanghai Summer."
City leaders should establish a resource-matching platform that connects multinational corporations with local enterprises. Shanghai can take the lead by launching targeted matchmaking initiatives in key global cities, such as the "CEO 1V1 Global Drive" to foster strategic partnerships and international collaboration.
By leveraging the international networks and brand strength of MNCs, these engagements will help domestic firms rapidly boost their global visibility during early stages of international expansion.
Shanghai is encouraged to embrace the concept of an open headquarters economy as a strategic engine for growth, drawing inspiration from leading international cities and domestic peers.
By leveraging its global operational expertise, Kuehne+Nagel can focus on key verticals such as the new mobility, health care and high-tech sectors within the digital economy, to support Shanghai's transformation into a global resource allocation hub and accelerate the development of its new economy.
Source: Shanghai Daily