Shanghai is consolidating its position as a hub for the online new economy, a year after the municipal government released a guideline to bolster the sector’s development. According to the White Paper on Shanghai’s Online New Economy 2020, the metropolis considered internet-related businesses to be a cornerstone in driving economic growth in the past year, and found itself in a leading position in several key areas from digital payments to online literature. The report found that despite Covid-19, Shanghai’s software and information services sector saw added value jump 13.5% year-on-year during the city's month-long shopping festival, accounting for 11.5% of all added output across the entire services sector.
Shanghai is now home to 21 of the Top 100 internet-based companies in China. By the end of October, 84,000 companies were engaged in cross-border e-commerce, which greatly facilitated exports for small and medium-sized companies at the height of the pandemic. The city also shows resilience among niche segments: it accounts for 60% of the third-party payment market, 70% of local living services, 90% of online literature and 30% of online gaming. “Shanghai’s goal of building itself into an international consumption center should also include information consumption,” said Vice Mayor Wu Qing. “We should prioritize the development of the online new economy across 12 sectors like industrial internet, online healthcare, remote education and grocery e-commerce.”
The Shanghai municipal government released an action plan in April last year to develop the city’s online new economy, which loosely refers to employing technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), 5G networks and big data to transform and empower traditional industries. Liang Changlin, Founder and CEO of grocery e-tailer Dingdong Maicai, believed that internet technologies will transform traditional industries that were previously run by intuition. “For instance, big data can predict customer needs and calculate the best route in real time to ensure smooth and in-time door-to-door delivery,” he said.
“As a medical AI company, we do see the necessity to use internet technologies to empower the traditional industry,” said Zhan Yiqiang, Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of United Imaging Intelligence. The company is now partnering with some 300 medical institutions nationwide to run examinations and help doctors detect overlooked fractures on X-rays. “For the next step, we look forward to using more novel technologies like 5G to revolutionize the entire work flow of hospitals and enhance operational efficiency,” he said, as reported by the China Daily.
