Gong Zheng met with Standard Chartered Group CEO Bill Winters, foreign enterprises are increasing their layout in Shanghai, and business entities are full of confidence in Shanghai

Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng met with Standard Chartered Group CEO Bill Winters and his delegation today. Gong Zheng stated that the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has just concluded, making systematic plans and strategic deployments for economic and social development over the next five years. Shanghai will continue to focus on the "Five Centers" as its main direction, accelerating the construction of a world-influential socialist modern international metropolis. Statistics show that Shanghai's GDP grew by 5.5% year-on-year in the first three quarters, and the long-term positive fundamentals of Shanghai's economy and the trend of high-quality development remain unchanged. Foreign-funded enterprises continue to increase their layout in Shanghai, and business entities are full of confidence in Shanghai's development. Finance is one of the most important urban functions in Shanghai, and we are deeply implementing high-level financial opening-up to build a first-class international financial center. Achieving this goal relies on the active participation of international financial institutions. Standard Chartered Group has deep roots in Shanghai, and we look forward to deepening mutually beneficial cooperation to achieve win-win development. We welcome Standard Chartered to increase its investment layout in Shanghai, to carry out innovative financial business in depth, to strengthen financial support for Chinese enterprises going abroad, and to actively participate in the 8th China International Import Expo. Shanghai will continue to create a first-class business environment and support international financial institutions to achieve greater development in Shanghai. Bill Winters said that recalling his first visit to Shanghai over 30 years ago, when Pudong was still a rice field, the changes today are astonishing, especially the significant progress Shanghai has made in the past five years. The development direction of Shanghai is highly aligned with the business focus of Standard Chartered Group. We are making every effort to support green finance, support emerging economic enterprises, and support the internationalization of the Renminbi. Standard Chartered sees broad opportunities in China and Shanghai and is full of confidence in Shanghai's development. We are willing to leverage our strengths, continuously improve our services, and provide better financial services in innovative ways to promote economic prosperity and development