Hunt for High-tech - Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng aims for Shanghai to become the high-technology center of China in the coming decade.

Infrastructure Projects - there are several infrastructure projects with design contracts and equipment tender opportunities, including port, river front and industrial projects.

CS Shanghai covers the Consular District of Jiangsu, Anhui and Zhejiang provinces and the City of Shanghai. The region's GDP was nearly US$ 375 billion in 2003, accounting for roughly 25 percent of China's total GDP. The economy of this region, known as East China, is roughly equivalent to that of the Philippines. The GDP of Shanghai alone grew 11.6 percent to nearly US$ 73 billion in 2003, accounting for over five percent of China's total output. GDP per capita in Shanghai is over US$ 4,500.

Shanghai is the industrial, financial, and commercial center of China. It hosts a concentration of manufacturing activity in the key industries of automotive, electronics, telecommunications, machinery, textiles, iron and steel, and petrochemicals. Shanghai has a population of over 16 million, not including up to four million temporary workers.

In 2003, exports from Shanghai to other parts of the world including the rest of Asia, Europe, and North America were US$ 48.5 billion, constituting about 11 percent of China's total. About 25 percent of China's total exports pass through Shanghai's ports. Two-way trade between the City of Shanghai and the U.S. was more than US$ 19 billion last year, amounting to 11 percent of China's total trade with the U.S.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in East China has been increasing steadily in the last four years and was especially impressive in 2003, given the fear that SARS would have a negative effect on investment flows from overseas. Contracted FDI for the region in the year 2003 was US$ 55.5 billion. In Shanghai, cumulative contracted FDI rose to nearly US$ 74.5 billion, representing eight percent of China’s total. Actual realized investment was just US$ 5.9 billion, but this represented over 30 percent of China's total.

The U.S. is one of the top investors in Shanghai. The U.S. share of Shanghai’s cumulative contracted FDI in 2003 was US$ 8.2 billion, or more than 11 percent of Shanghai's total. There are about 4,000 U.S.-invested projects in Shanghai. The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai is the largest in Asia, with over 2,400 members and growth of 50 new companies per month. More than 4,000 Americans are long-term residents of Shanghai, and many more work on short-term visas.

The City of Shanghai has the status of a province and receives preferential treatment from the central government, particularly as an incubator for reforms and pilot projects. Costs tend to be somewhat higher in Shanghai than in nearby cities, but the business environment is generally more transparent.

Sectors to watch in the region are IT, telecommunications services, transportation infrastructure (ports, metro and light rail), distribution services, environmental technologies, construction materials, architectural and engineering services, industrial equipment, machine tools and manufacturing process controls.