A staff member works at a testing workshop of a chip testing service platform at the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech 895 Incubator in Pudong New Area, East China's Shanghai, on July 8, 2026. [Photo/Xinhua]
Shanghai companies' outbound activities are transitioning from simply exporting products to a higher level of globalization in terms of capital, brands and services, He Dongbin, deputy director of the Shanghai Commission of Commerce, said during a news briefing on Friday.
In the metropolis, trade and investment have become more deeply integrated. In other words, companies are strategically coordinating outbound investment with trade in goods and services. Therefore, trade in intermediate goods has played an increasingly important role in boosting Shanghai's foreign trade, He said.
The shift toward asset-light investment has become more noticeable. Sectors such as technical services, the digital economy, and cultural creativity, which are asset-light yet high-value-added, have become key drivers of Shanghai's outbound investment.
For example, business development transactions made by companies based in Zhangjiang of Pudong New Area now account for nearly 10 percent of the global total. Meanwhile, Pudong has become a hub accommodating several leading Chinese short drama companies with a strong overseas presence.
