International experts gathering at a sub-forum of the Hongqiao International Economic Forum in Shanghai have said that digitalization and intelligence will become the defining feature of an international opening-up hub under construction in the city and its vicinity.
The sub-forum on Building Hongqiao International Opening-up Hub and Hub Conference 2024 of the seventh Hongqiao International Economic Forum took place in Shanghai on Thursday, with the theme of further improving the capacity of the hub and fully fostering new quality productive forces.
The State Council approved the overall plan in February 2021 to build Shanghai's Hongqiao area and parts of the neighboring Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces into an international opening-up hub bridging domestic and international markets.
Viewed as a microcosm of China's ongoing efforts to deepen high-level opening up, the construction of the hub has attracted wide attention and expectations from both domestic and foreign participants at the forum. The focus lies on how to further promote the development of the hub, particularly in enhancing its radiation and demonstration effects in areas such as sci-tech innovation and green and low-carbon development.
In recent years, new technologies represented by digitalization and intelligence have consistently achieved breakthroughs, while new business forms have emerged continuously, and new applications have rapidly expanded.
Participants at the forum shared the view that digital and intelligent technologies empower new models of innovative economic growth, which will play a significant role in deepening reforms and promoting economic development.
"China also has an enormous ability to innovate. If you want to find the best electric vehicles in the world, you look to China. This is innovation, this is new ideas, and this is going to be the driving force of economic and social development in the future," said Viktor Mayer-Schonberger, a professor of internet governance and regulation at Oxford University.
In addition, over the past three years since the plan's approval, the Hongqiao International Central Business District (CBD), functioning as the core of the Hongqiao international opening-up hub, has seen accelerated clustering of competitive industries, significant progress in functional development, and a burst of vitality from diverse entities.
In the first three quarters of 2024, major economic indicators in the CBD, including tax revenue, import and export volume, industrial output value above designated size, and fixed-asset investment, all recorded a double-digit growth, establishing the district as a vibrant growth pole for the economic development of Shanghai and the broader Yangtze River Delta region.
The seventh China International Import Expo (CIIE) is taking place in Shanghai from Tuesday to Sunday. The Hongqiao International Economic Forum, an important part of the CIIE, includes a main forum and 19 sub-forums.
Global experts envision future development of Hongqiao International Opening-up Hub
