Changning strengthens role as ‘eastern engine’ of Hongqiao Hub

Changning District has achieved leapfrog growth with both quantitative and qualitative improvements over the past five years, from shaping the "Best Hongqiao" brand to fully building itself as the "eastern engine of the Greater Hongqiao Area and the western gateway of the metropolis," District Director Liu Ping said at a press conference held by the Shanghai Municipal Government Information Office on March 23 to mark the fifth anniversary of the launch of the Hongqiao International Open Hub.

Over the past five years, Changning's GDP grew at an average annual rate of 7 percent, the fastest among all districts in Shanghai. Its GDP per capita and per unit area both rank among the top in the city. Accounting for 5.1 percent of Shanghai's total economic output, Changning contributed 7.3 percent of the city's economic growth during the five-year period.

In the East Hongqiao area, tax revenue more than doubled from 11.1 billion yuan (US$1.61 billion) in 2020 to 22.5 billion yuan in 2025, ranking first among the four core areas of the Hongqiao hub for five consecutive years. The East Hongqiao area accounts for less than one-seventh of the Hongqiao hub's total area but contributes over two-fifths of its tax revenue.

Changning has actively built the Hongqiao Enterprise Global Headquarters Cluster, establishing a service matrix that includes 10 government services and 10 professional services, creating a "15-minute overseas expansion service circle" to position the Hongqiao area as the "first stop" for Yangtze River Delta enterprises going global.

Currently, the district is home to over 60 professional service providers for overseas expansion and has launched a legal service map to support enterprises going global, having served more than 3,700 companies. Chagee, a brand that started in Changning, has expanded globally, with nearly 300 overseas stores by the end of 2025.

Changning now hosts 94 regional headquarters of multinational corporations, with a total of 154 headquarters and R&D centers, of which more than 100 are located in the East Hongqiao area. The district is home to over 6,000 foreign-invested enterprises.

In the financial sector, Changning is advancing the development of the core functional area of the Hongqiao M&A Cluster. In the data sector, the district has established the city's first district-level cross-border data service station. In the talent sector, Changning has created a mechanism for cross-regional management of foreign talent in the Yangtze River Delta, issuing the first cross-province "fast-track" work and residence permit for foreigners, and actively building the "Hongqiao · Haichuang Bay" innovation and entrepreneurship platform to make the "eastern engine" even more attractive.