GDP Rankings Among Top Five Globally, "Economic First City" Target Upgraded

A few days ago, Shanghai was bustling with activity. On March 12, the 2026 China Appliance and Consumer Electronics Expo (AWE 2026) opened, featuring a concentration of robots and ubiquitous AI (artificial intelligence) elements. Not only did this bring future home living one step closer to reality, but it also gave the event, often called the “China version of CES (International Consumer Electronics Show),” a global leadership significance.

Xinhua News Agency

Following closely, on March 14, the 2026 Shanghai Global Investment Promotion Conference (hereinafter referred to as the Global Investment Promotion Conference) opened. The event once again extended a “hero invitation” to the world; outside the venue, Shanghai’s breakthrough has already begun—reflected not only in discussions among participating companies about industry development directions but also in their increased investments in Shanghai. The global future industry center, represented by AI, is accelerating its migration to China and Shanghai.

The commonality between these two events extends beyond AI. They are both among the first activities after the launch of the Oriental Hub International Business Cooperation Zone, with Pudong leading the way as an engine for attracting various innovation elements to Shanghai.

At the start of the “14th Five-Year Plan,” both events share a common goal: Shanghai is attempting to redefine its global position. At the Global Investment Promotion Conference, Shanghai announced that its GDP (Gross Domestic Product) has entered the top five worldwide and aims to further develop into a “socialist modern international metropolis with global influence.”

How prepared is Shanghai for this global sprint to the top?

Not Just “Lobster Farming”

Recently, “lobster” has undoubtedly been the hottest topic. The market has seen a series of “wealth creation myths” driven by “lobster”; many cities are eager to follow suit, quickly incorporating “lobster” into government support policies.

This vigorous AI revolution, of course, cannot exclude Shanghai. At the Global Investment Promotion Conference, “lobster” repeatedly appeared as expected. But compared to the urgency of “all-in” betting, Shanghai shows more composure and determination, focusing on the long-term and orderly development of the industry.

One of the most influential companies is MiniMax. Data previously showed that the top three daily and weekly call volumes for OpenClaw were all dominated by Chinese companies, forming the “Lobster Trio.” Among them, Shanghai Xiyu Jizhi Technology Co., Ltd.'s large model MiniMax and Shanghai Jieyue Xingchen Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd.'s large model Step are both based in Shanghai.

As one of the conference speakers, MiniMax founder and CEO Yan Junjie did not dwell much on “lobster,” but instead recounted the company’s development over the past few years. He said that the company has continuously expanded user scenarios, making them a driving force for growth, which is inseparable from Shanghai’s open innovation environment and its encouragement of open-source, inclusive development for enterprises and the public.

As an AI computing engine service provider, Luo Xiaqu from Shanshu Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. believes that “lobster” is just “a small point.” Unlike the demand concentration in Europe and America during previous industrial revolutions, this AI industry demand is in China. The “lobster heat” indicates that China is likely to promote AI development through its industrial advantages, with rapid evolution across hardware, software, and applications. The key is whether everyone can seize the opportunity and rise with the trend.

Shanghai has already identified its direction. Throughout the conference, “ecology” and “endpoints” were two key themes.

On that day, a special investment and financing summit focused on AI endpoints was held. The clear signal was that the explosion of AI endpoints is imminent. As Liu Chunjian, founder and CEO of Liulian Intelligent, said, unlike the past where Shenzhen was strong and Shanghai weak in endpoints, the new endpoints in the AI era could emerge across various industries, giving Shanghai a chance to break through.

Last October, Shanghai issued the “High-Quality Development Action Plan for the Intelligent Terminal Industry (2026–2027),” proposing that by 2027, the overall scale of the intelligent terminal industry would surpass 300 billion yuan, with the number of AI computers, AI smartphones, and new AI terminals reaching 10 million units each, contributing new growth to the economy.

Meanwhile, the AWE held at the same time aligns with this industrial development “AB side”: one side is the current industry transformation, and the other is the future of innovation.

Ecology is the “winning move” for Shanghai to unlock terminal potential.

Wu Xucheng, Deputy General Manager of Shanghai Guotou Leading, pointed out that based on Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s “five-layer cake” theory of AI, China has absolute advantages at the energy layer at the bottom and the application layer at the top. On that day, several new energy material companies announced increased investment in Shanghai, improving the city’s new energy supply system.

Shanshu Technology, founded in Beijing, recently established its new headquarters in Shanghai. Luo Xiaqu noted that Shanghai’s previous accumulation in the integrated circuit industry has created a fertile ground for AI development, which is also a main reason for the company’s choice of Shanghai.

Turning “reverse” into “positive”

Besides visible industrial foundations, some intangible qualities give Shanghai a rare advantage in leading the global industry track.

Cao Wei, partner at BlueChili Ventures, feels that although there has been recent discussion about Shenzhen manufacturing surpassing Shanghai, Shanghai still holds clear advantages in a big innovation environment, corporate mission sense, and global perspective.

At the same time, “global orientation” has become part of Shanghai enterprises’ DNA.

As Yan Junjie emphasized in his sharing, his startup goal from the beginning was “to build a global company,” and he believes that “Shanghai should be the most suitable city in the country for developing global companies.”

Shanghai also announced its intention to cultivate world-class enterprises. As AI narrows the development gap in the global tech industry, such an international perspective becomes especially important.

Conversely, more and more high-end global elements are gathering in Shanghai. At the AI endpoint investment and financing summit, a delegation from Silicon Valley was specially invited to seek resources; meanwhile, at AWE, 15 tech companies from Silicon Valley and around the world appeared for the first time in a large-scale exhibition group. Media described that in the past, more Chinese companies exhibited in the US or Silicon Valley, while it was rare for American entrepreneurs to “reverse” and come to China.

As Shanghai increasingly becomes an innovation “magnet,” it provides an effective space and environment for these high-end elements to settle.

A consensus within the innovation community is that Silicon Valley’s success relies on a diverse, globally talented environment, forming a circle capable of attracting global innovation talent.

In response to many entrepreneurs’ questions about “how to attract talent globally,” He Miao, Deputy General Manager of Shanghai Guotou Leading, mentioned that the conference venue and the Shanghai Oriental Hub International Business Cooperation Zone have proposed a solution: overseas talents can participate without a visa.

According to a relevant person from the Shanghai Oriental Hub International Business Cooperation Zone Management Bureau, the zone is a newly approved special open area by the State Council, called “the world’s first, and the only” zero-time-difference international business zone.

Compared to other “inside-outside” regulatory zones mainly for goods, the zone was the first to extend “front-line liberalization” to natural persons. Overseas personnel can enter without a visa with an invitation and registration certificate, and quickly handle “port visas” for exit and entry within the zone.

Openings are also reflected in details. Domestic participants can enter the “inside-outside” area by scanning a QR code, even under the “pressure test” of simultaneous major events, the zone remains calm.

Furthermore, a broader institutional opening will further unfold.

Previously, Yuling, head of economic consulting at Ernst & Young (China), pointed out in an interview that the element synergy brought by talent mobility will manifest in multiple fields, especially in facilitating the flow of technology, capital, and data.

Behind this is not only an upgrade of Pudong’s “leading zone” construction but also an exploration of new systems to lead the country and even the world, making the “reverse” inflow of international resources a potential norm.

Moving Toward the World’s Largest

Since last year, as Shanghai’s GDP surpassed 5 trillion yuan, discussions about the city’s pursuit of being the “world’s largest” have intensified.

From the messages conveyed at this conference, Shanghai is continuously building the foundation for reaching the top. Compared to the overall economic size, more importance is now placed on specific indicators.

For example, in promoting Shanghai globally, several metrics stand out: in cargo “connectivity,” Shanghai Port’s container throughput ranks first worldwide, making Shanghai the largest cargo trade port city; in “perception,” Shanghai has the most cafes globally; and in service levels for enterprises, the World Bank’s 2025 China Business Environment Survey shows that 22 out of 59 evaluation points related to the business environment in Shanghai reach the highest global standards.

In a sense, in the resource network centered on global cities, Shanghai’s leading fields are all related to “traffic.” Its “first position” is not only about size and strength but also about its ability and level of integrating into global industrial, innovation, and value chains, as well as its efficiency in allocating global resources.

Faced with industry upgrading and opening-up opportunities, Shanghai also aims to further consolidate its position in the global city system.

Regarding openness, a relevant Shanghai official mentioned that the city will fully implement major national strategies, promote pioneering reforms and leading openness, with the goal of establishing a policy service system with international competitiveness.

In industrial development, Shanghai’s approach has become more focused.

Looking back at the past two Global Investment Promotion Conferences, Shanghai first announced its future industrial framework, then introduced space carriers and injected financial vitality. This year, Shanghai further released 31 “new quality elements,” including 11 public service platforms, 10 specialized pilot platforms, and 10 benchmark application scenarios—clear signals of policy fine-tuning to promote industrial innovation and efficiently match top resources with key industries.

For example, in the AI sector, Shanghai has established the largest domestic computing power scheduling platform, offering 1 billion yuan worth of computing power vouchers annually to solve the difficulties large enterprises face in accessing computing resources and the high costs for small and medium-sized enterprises. It also built the country’s first corpus operation platform to provide high-quality data urgently needed by model companies.

From the enterprise perspective, Shanghai’s “connectivity” also operates at another level.

Zeiss Greater China President and CEO Fei Mingyuan pointed out that Zeiss has formed a “dual center, dual highland” development pattern in China, with a high-end equipment hub in the Yangtze River Delta, including the Zeiss Greater China headquarters complex in Shanghai and related layouts in Suzhou.

This industrial synergy is expected to expand further. Not long ago, the “Shanghai Metropolitan Area Land Space Plan (2025–2035)” draft was released. Notably, the scope of the “Greater Shanghai Metropolitan Area” has been expanded again, extending to Hangzhou, Yancheng, Taizhou, Shaoxing, and Xuancheng.

In multiple fields, Shenzhen remains an unavoidable comparison, but Shanghai has its own mission. As many experts analyze, the key lies in how Shanghai can leverage the core functions of its “five centers.”

Maintaining focus and doing one’s own thing remains the core reason why Shanghai is Shanghai.