Shanghai officially unveiled the city brand of "Shanghai Style" on Saturday during the launch ceremony of the 2026 National Premium Products Debut Season and the "First in Shanghai" event series at historic Zhangyuan in Shanghai.
Concurrently, a unified visual identity system for the brand was unveiled, designed to serve as a trusted certification mark enabling consumers to identify authorized service providers and premium offerings across key sectors, including fashion, fine jewelry, and traditional crafts.
The move aims to develop a robust ecosystem for customized goods and services, with an emphasis on craftsmanship, brand development, and accessibility for international visitors, reinforcing its strategic positioning as an international consumption center.
"We were the first to launch customized service in Shanghai, aiming to build a brand, encourage industry clustering, and strengthen coordination with an emphasis on the integration of culture, business, tourism, sports and exhibitions. More importantly, we want to foster craftsmanship. We have also introduced group standards, mainly focusing on the 'Shanghai Style'. Our goal is to enrich its content and standardize the service," said Liu Min, deputy director of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce.
To ensure a smooth journey and better experience for global shoppers, the city is prioritizing several practical service upgrades. Measures include further optimizing the tax refund process for overseas visitors, expanding the number of pilot stores, and enhancing the overall convenience of tax refunds.
"Applications are underway for systems related to inbound duty-free shopping. Any payment method you can think of are available here. In Shanghai, for orders where on-site processing cannot be completed within the visitor's stay, finished items will be delivered to the customer's home country via international logistics," said Zhu Weiming, chief planner of the Shanghai Fashion Couture and Tailoring Festival.
Shanghai sparks new era of personalized shopping with "Shanghai Style"
China's Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao outlined the key priorities of the 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting, which opened on Friday in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province.
In an interview with CGTN ahead of the two-day meeting, Wang said free trade, digital cooperation and green economy are high on the agenda of the meeting.
"The key areas include advancing regional economic integration and the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, supporting the World Trade Organization (WTO) in strengthening digital cooperation and developing green economy. At present, the international situation is marked by intertwined turbulence and chaos, with intensified geopolitical instability. The rise of unilateralism and protectionism poses serious challenges to the international economic and trade order, disrupting global and Asia-Pacific development. Against this backdrop, all parties have higher expectations for this trade ministers' meeting, hoping that it can build consensus and deliver outcomes," Wang said.
This year marks China's third time hosting the APEC meetings and the 35th anniversary of its membership.
By 2025, China had become the largest trading partner of 13 APEC economies. Trade between China and APEC economies reached 3.7 trillion U.S. dollars, accounting for 57.8 percent of China's total foreign trade.
China has signed 24 free trade agreements or economic and trade arrangements with 31 countries and regions, including 15 APEC economies. In recent years, China has also completed upgrades of free trade agreements with APEC economies such as Singapore and Peru.
The minister said that China has always been a firm supporter and an important contributor to APEC.
"We have actively shared our vast market and development opportunities with all parties. China's door to the world will only open wider and wider. Facing the common challenges, China will continue to fulfill its responsibilities as a major country, further deepen reform, expand high-standard opening-up, and continue to provide new opportunities for the Asia-Pacific region and the world with its new achievements in Chinese modernization," the minister said.
China's Commerce Minister outlines priorities for 32nd APEC trade ministers' meeting
