New Year Message
Gong Zheng
Mayor of Shanghai
January 1, 2025
Dear fellow citizens, comrades, and friends,
With the turning of the seasons, a new year unfolds. As we bid farewell to the old and usher in the new, I would like to extend, on behalf of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, our warmest greetings and sincere wishes to all the people of Shanghai and our friends from home and abroad who care about and support Shanghai’s development.
The past year has been one in which we have kept in mind the instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping and worked tirelessly to accelerate the building of Shanghai into a socialist, modern and international metropolis with global influence.
Centered around the critical mission of the “Five Centers” initiative, we have continued to enhance the capabilities of the city in the past year. Shanghai’s GDP is set to reach a new high of over 5 trillion yuan. The total turnover of financial markets has increased to an impressive 3,500 trillion yuan. Shanghai continues to be the world’s biggest port of entry by trade volume, and is the first port to handle over 50 million TEUs of containers annually. Moreover, we are seeing rapid advancements in cutting-edge technologies like integrated circuits, biomedicine, and artificial intelligence, and the new drivers of high-quality development are thriving and gaining momentum.
This year, we have made significant strides in comprehensively deepening reforms and continued to blaze new trails for high-level reform and opening-up. We have further advanced the comprehensive pilot reform in Pudong, and steadily scaled up the high-standard institutional opening-up in the Pilot Free Trade Zone and the Lingang Special Area. The new round of action plan for the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta has been launched, and the development of open platforms such as the Eastern Hub International Business Cooperation Zone has accelerated. The seventh China International Import Expo achieved a record-breaking annualized intended transaction value of 80 billion US dollars, demonstrating Shanghai’s unwavering commitment to deepening reforms and expanding high-level opening-up.
This year, we have wholeheartedly embraced the concept of the people’s city, continuously enhancing the quality of life for our citizens. The 34 initiatives across ten key areas, designed to directly benefit the people, were completed ahead of schedule and beyond expectations. The “Thousand Parks” initiative is nearing fruition, while the World Expo Cultural Park and the Shanghai Museum East have opened their doors to the public, offering citizens an abundance of new recreational destinations. The inaugural Shanghai International Light Festival dazzled and delighted, and our signature events, such as the Shanghai Marathon, Head of Shanghai River Regatta, and Shanghai Sailing Open, proved immensely popular. Urban regeneration has picked up speed, and public services like senior citizens’ canteens and community childcare facilities have expanded and improved significantly. These citizen-centric initiatives have infused our city with a warmer and more human touch.
Diligence is favored by fortune, and practical action is paramount. In 2025, we must unite more firmly around the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core. Under the strong leadership of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee, we will rise to all challenges with unwavering resolve, and successfully complete the objectives and tasks of the 14th Five-Year Plan. We will meticulously craft the 15th Five-Year Plan, striving to play a leading and exemplary role in advancing Chinese modernization.
High-quality development is the cornerstone of Shanghai’s modernization journey. We will prioritize expanding domestic demand, particularly consumer spending, while stabilizing foreign trade and investment. By harnessing the power of technological innovation, we will cultivate new productive forces and foster sustained economic recovery and growth. Leveraging the synergistic effects of multiple national strategies and tasks, we will accelerate the development of Shanghai as an international economic, financial, trade, shipping and sci-tech innovation center. We will deepen high-level reform and opening-up, pushing forward pilot programs in key areas such as Pudong as a leading area for socialist modernization, Lingang Special Area, and Yangtze River Delta Integrated Development Demonstration Zone. We will actively advance the development of the five new towns, the transformation of Baoshan District in the north and Jinshan District in the south, as well as rural revitalization, thereby optimizing and expanding urban development space.
Upholding the well-being of our citizens is the ultimate goal of Shanghai’s modernization. Always keeping people’s needs in mind, we will diligently implement projects that enhance their quality of life, and effectively address their concerns. We will strive to ensure greater employment opportunities, a robust social safety net, and high-quality and equitable access to education, healthcare, elderly care, housing, and other public services. We will vigorously pursue urban renewal, refine urban management, and foster innovative approaches to social governance, cultivating a caring and harmonious social environment. We will continuously modernize the governance of Shanghai as a megacity, ultimately improving our citizens’ sense of fulfillment, happiness, and security.
Finally, I wish everyone good health, and all the success and happiness in the year ahead!
May our great motherland prosper, grow stronger, and enjoy lasting peace and stability!
,https://english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-Latest-WhatsNew/20241231/ab34c6c74f334daf9d9d4ddb86c6c7db.html