Shanghai Development as a Metropolis

NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.

NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.

Table of Contents

Abstract
Methodology
Introduction
Administrative and Geographic Structure
Location
Economic structure
Metropolitan economy
Regions Economic Strategy
Conclusion
Works Cited

Abstract

Shanghai is one of the most emerging cities in the world with high economic performance. Being a city in a communist country, this research work is mainly concerned with its economic development and how it emerged to be a metropolitan city. Its geographical, economic, and administrative structures are analyzed, and its industry network, opportunities, goals, and objectives are also discussed. The growth of Shanghai to a metropolis is traced from 1978 when China started its economic reforms.

Methodology

The study involves a literature review to establish the facts about Shanghai’s development to the state of the metropolis. This also involves studying and economic interpretation of figures and tables.

Introduction

Shanghai is also known in short as shen or hu. It is metropolitan and multicultural; it has both traditional and modern features of China. It is a city with provincial status and is directly accountable to the central government. Shanghai is strategically the most important city in China; it is the largest financial and commercial center in China, has one of the most significant seaports in China, and is the leading base of industrial technology.

Administrative and Geographic Structure

Most regions of Shanghai are plane and contain an alluvial plain that spreads from the delta of River Yangtze. It is elevated at an average of four meters above sea level. Shanghai has several rivers making it very resourceful in terms of water. The main river is Huangpu River with many tributaries; in fact, the majority of the rivers in Shanghai are tributaries to Huangpu River. Huangpu River originates from Lake Taihu and covers approximately 113 kilometers; it is estimated to be between 300 and 400 meters in width. It is therefore the main water channel connecting the Shanghai area and other parts of China.

The city of Shanghai constitutes three counties and sixteen districts. It has got nine townships, two hundred and five towns, ninety-nine sub-district committees, three thousand two hundred and seventy-eight neighborhood committees, and two thousand nine hundred and thirty-five villager’s committees within the city.

Location

The location of Shanghai can be traced through latitude 31042’ to the north and longitude 121029’ to the east. It is found on the east coast of China which is to the south of River Yangtze. On the west side, the city borders the provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangsu. Shanghai has easy access to most of the hinterland making it one of the most important cities of China. To the southwest area lie few hills.

Economic structure

Shanghai has emerged to be a crucial financial and economic harbor in China. It is also the center that serves the shipping and most trade in China. It is a major contributor to the general development and growth of China’s economy and social welfare. The reforms that took place in China in 1978 helped to make Shanghai be an open environment. It benefits from the high rate of development with particular reference to the year 2000. It has been estimated that for the past fifteen years the economy of Shanghai has risen by over 10 percent. It occupies only about 0.06 percent of China’s total land areas yet it contributes 8.3 percent of value to the industrial output of China. It also handles 10 percent of China’s port freight, 25 percent of exports and imports and generates 12.5% of China’s total revenue.

Shanghai also practices agriculture to help grow its economy. It has developed stock breeding, planting, fisheries, and forestry. It has favorable conditions for the development of agriculture which are situated in areas described as modern agricultural zones. These areas include Fengxian located in the south Fexian district, Sunqiao, and Baoshan district, Jiading, Songjiang, Nanhui, and Minhang. These agricultural regions have attracted a good number of foreign investors, professionals in agriculture and advanced technology. The city also has a very convenient transport network that enables fast connection between the city and the suburbs. This is said to have reinforced the cooperation between the agricultural sector and the industrial sector. Shanghai mostly practice agriculture mainly for export.

Shanghai has a well developed and growing industrial sector. Manufacturing of communication gadgets, electronic equipment, petrochemicals, equipment assemblies, biomedicines, steel products, and automobiles is done in Shanghai. The industrial area found in Shanghai include Zangjiang Hi- Tech Park, Jinqiao Export Processing Zone located in New Area of Pudong, Jiading, Qingpu, Minhang and Songjiang. A lot of constructions are taking place, these include expressways, railways, bridges, tunnels, and highways; these to due to well developed architectural industry. There are also commercial and residential buildings. Service industry is also important to the growth of Shanghai’s economy. There are matured financial system and tourism services to both international and local tourists, catering, hotel, real estate, education, entertainment & health, and physical training. Daily communication is enhanced through well developed postal services, information services, and communications industry.

The economy of Shanghai has been performing excellently thereby improving the living standards of the people living there; however, there are underlying challenges that should be tackled. Shanghai’s economy depends so much, especially, on heavy manufacturing industry which consumes more energy and land space and causes environmental pollutions. It is believed that the service sector and other business entities only capture a small portion of the industrial structure of Shanghai. If not balanced this trend is likely to adversely affect Shanghai’s economy (China Daily 18). Otherwise with appropriate actions to balance the industrial sector with other economic sectors and taking the advantage of the establishment of Asian Pacific headquarter within Shanghai, Shanghai is set to develop into a city of international metropolitan. This will enable it to give better contributions to economic development of River Delta of Yangtze.

Metropolitan economy

Evolution Shanghai into a Metropolitan economy

Shanghai is situated on the western coast of the Pacific Ocean and placed at the middle of the north-south coastline. This has given it an advantageous position in terms of international trade and development. Shanghai is China’s largest city which is also the main socio-economic center. The economy of China has been structured to work on five-year plan model. This plan has been in place since the economic transformation of China in 1978. The plan is integrated into the central governments time table and used by all the government entities within China. In 1999, Shanghai completed its ninth “Five-Year Plan and in 2000 it started its tenth “Five-Year Plan”. For period ending in the year 2000 Shanghai attained a speedy and sustained growth (White 67).

From the time China started economic transformation in 1978 to the year 2000 the GDP of Shanghai rose about 6.5 times and was worth about $48.8 billion and growth rate of 9.5 percent. The opening and quick development of Pudong to be the special economic zone in 1990, placed Shanghai to be the leader in China’s whole nationwide economic reform progress. This development trend attracted international business activities to take place in Shanghai (White 48 and77). In 1980s Shanghai started an immense economic restructuring force and aimed at becoming international information, trade, shipping, and financial center. In 2001, the tertiary industry of Shanghai had a GDP of $303.227 billion; this figure was above the total contributions of the industrial and agricultural sector and accounted for 50.7 percent of the city’s total GDP.

Since 1990, the number of workers in different sectors of the economy has been fluctuating. From 1990 to 2000 the number of workers in the secondary industries went down from 59.3 percent of total metropolis’ work force in 1990 to 42 percent in the year 2000, but in the tertiary industry the number had an upward trend of 29.6 percent in 1990 to 46 percent of the total metropolis work force in 2000. Generally the economy of Shanghai is now more open than before and its economic and social performance continues to enhance. There are right over twenty five thousand foreign business investments, amongst these are the three hundred and twenty five top five hundred companies in the world (Sung 179).

It is estimated that Shanghai’s foreign direct investment come from around eighty nations and regions; this amounts to contracted value of $40 billion. Shanghai is the China’s financial center; it therefore, offers China’s financial sector access to the international world branches of international banks, securities, and insurance companies.

Key industry networks

The main industry networks in Shanghai are manufacturing of automobiles, communications, information manufacturing, tourism industry, biomedicine, petroleum and chemical industry, electronic and household electronic appliances, manufacturing of complete-set equipment, Insurance, real estate, iron and steel manufacturing and insurance. In the late 1990 the information industry has experienced quick growth; its main fields of operations are in the microelectronic productions, software production and development, systematic application and production of information. Shanghai’s tourism industry is well developed; this has been enabled through organizing and giving host to different cultural and festival activities. Shanghai has played host to Shanghai International Television Festival, China Oil Paintings in the 20th Century, China International Art Festival, Shanghai Biennale art exhibition and Shanghai International Clothing Culture Festival. The tourism industry in Shanghai has contributed enormously to Shanghai’s economy through attracting foreign exchange (Guizot 128).

The insurance, finance, and real estate sector has maintained sustained development. It is approximated that over three thousand financial institutions which include eleven Chinese insurance companies, eight financial companies, seventeen Chinese banks, six security firms, over two hundred rural credit cooperatives over sixty active foreign financial institutions and a financing leasing company. Besides, there have been about forty banks belonging to foreign investors. The well developed financial, insurance and real estate sectors have led to increased GDP of Shanghai.

All the industries found within Shanghai are economically viable and contributes a great percentage in China’s overall economic growth. Amongst all the key industry networks, automobile industry is the one with the utmost sales-production ratio estimated at over a hundred percent of what other industries produce (Guizot 132). Foreign investment in this industry includes the General Motors and Volkswagen Corporation (Xin 6-17).

Regions Economic Strategy

Development Opportunities

Shanghai enjoys lots of opportunities to become one of the greatest international cities in the world. Shanghai, because of its strategic geographical location and its economic performance, is the only city that can efficiently link China with the rest of the world. The government of China has directed its efforts in helping Shanghai to achieve world class city status; this means the city has greater opportunities to grow. Shanghai and its affiliate regions are to being used as development model for other cities and Chinese economy. More foreign investors are likely to come to Shanghai due to the well developed Pudong; this will increase Shanghai’s economic growth and hence economic growth of China as a whole.

Main Goals

Shanghai has a number of long term goals and objectives. These include becoming one of the centers of the world that offer trade, financial, and economic services to the world population. The Puding New Area is set to be converted into multifunctional, first class export oriented and modernized new city; the government expects it to be an international economic metropolis. The government expects to attain a GDP of approximately 10 percent per capita, optimize urban space allocation, modernize the infrastructures of the city, introduce socialist market system of economy and practice a balanced socio-economic and environmental development (China Daily 7 and 19).

Conclusion

Shanghai is China’s largest capital city. It started its rapid economic growth after 1978 when China started its economic transformations; it has both traditional and modern features of China. It contributes more to China’s economy than other cities. Shanghai has industrial sector dealing with the manufacture of automobiles, electronic equipment, chemical equipment, and communication & information gadgets. It has also financial, real estate and insurance sector, tourism sector, education and it a port that handles major China’s shipments.

Shanghai has always attracted foreign direct investments. There are foreign workers, companies and banks that are found in the international business this makes it a metropolis city with lots of activities. The government of China dreams to upgrade Shanghai to achieve a world class status city and make it be a center of financial and other economic activities.

Works Cited

China Daily. “2009-2010 Government Chart of PRC.” China Daily, Web.

Guizot, Armelle. The Financial and Banking System, Foreign Exchange and Interest Rate Risk Policies. Harriman House Publishing, 2007. ISBN 1905641109, 9781905641109.

Sung, Yun-wing and Yeung, Yue-man. Transformation and modernization under China’s open policy. Shanghai: Chinese University Press, 1996. ISBN 9622016677, 9789622016675.

White, T. Lynn. Local causes of China’s economic reforms. Unstately Power. M.E. Sharpe, 1998. ISBN 0765600447, 9780765600448.

Xin, Hua. “Shanghai GM to recall Chevrolet Captiva off-road vehicles.” China.org.cn. 2010. Web.

Click Here To Order Now!