Xi Jinping showcases policy priorities on first trip to Shanghai since 2020, as Chinese leader promotes his agenda
- The Chinese president’s itinerary included a futures exchange, technology fair and affordable housing project signalling some of the main items on his agenda
- It was his first visit to the city, one of the country’s key economic hubs, since last year’s prolonged Covid lockdown brought it grinding to a halt
Chinese President Xi Jinping is making his first visit to Shanghai since 2020, state media reported on Wednesday, on a trip that highlights some key aspects of his policy agenda in areas such as finance, technology and welfare.
State broadcaster CCTV reported that the Chinese leader was in the city on Tuesday and Wednesday, visiting the Shanghai Futures Exchange, the ongoing Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Exhibition and an affordable accomodation project.
Footage from the innovation exhibition showed Xi examining a display of semiconductor integrated circuits – a technology that lies at the heart of China’s tech competition with the US – and watching a walking, human-shaped robot in the artificial intelligence section.
He also visited a project providing affordable rental accomodation for migrant workers in the city’s Minhang district and gave a speech to the tenants outside.
Xi last visited Shanghai in 2020, when he attended a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the development of Pudong, the city’s financial hub.
Earlier this week, the Communist Party Politburo endorsed plans to speed up the development of the region, one of China’s most important economic hubs.
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However, the meeting did not announce a date for the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee, an event that usually sets the country’s development strategy and priorities for the next five to 10 years.
That omission means the plenum is unlikely to happen this year because the Politburo will only meet once more before the new year, in late December, which will be the next window of opportunity to announce the date of the plenum.
Xi’s visit comes just after the end of the China International Import Expo – a major showcase for the country’s vast market. It also coincided with the 10th anniversary of the creation of the Shanghai Free-Trade Zone, a testing ground for China’s economic reforms.
Five years ago, on a visit to the first import expo, Xi announced that a 120sq km (46-square-mile) area in the eastern part of the city would be given free-trade zone status in a bid to attract global investors.
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Since then a host of major foreign companies have since set up shops and factories, including Tesla, which began delivering its Shanghai-made vehicles in January 2020.
With a population of more than 25 million residents contributing nearly 4 per cent of China’s economic output, Shanghai is home to some of the biggest foreign investors in the country.
These include General Motors and the Walt Disney Company, as well as the electric car maker.
Additional reporting by Phoebe Zhang
