Pudong’s story

As the host city of the first China International Import Expo， Shanghai is in the limelight. Three years ago， when Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a visit to Lincoln High School in Tacoma， in the Washington State of the United States， he told the students there， “If you want to know what China has experienced in the past 100 years， go to Shanghai.”

In the past four decades since Chinas reform and opening-up kicked off， Shanghai was a pioneer in international trade and economic cooperation. Through opening itself wider to the outside world， its economic reforms have been enhanced. Pudong New Area is a perfect example of this： Over the past 28 years since its establishment， the new area has developed by leaps and bounds from rural area into an iconic modern district. Its GDP grew 160-fold from RMB 6 billion to RMB 965.1 billion， and its revenues soared by a stunning amount， 394-fold from RMB 1 billion to RMB 393.8 billion.

The favorable environment Shanghai has provided for overseas investors has attracted top multinationals and international financial institutions as well as domestic R&D; centers of key national technology programs， which has led to a substantial change in Shanghais economy and local peoples lives. “China will open its door wider and wider to the outside world” is no empty talk.

You may wonder： what influences has Pudong exerted on China and the rest of the world？ What can we expect from it in the future？ China Today covered those angles with on-the-spot interviews.