Sunday 23 November 2008

Shanghai Seeks New Platform for Growth

Shanghai’s government launched eight measures to implement the central government’s economic stimulus package.

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Guanyu said...

Shanghai Seeks New Platform for Growth

Shanghai’s government launched eight measures to implement the central government’s economic stimulus package.

By Zhao Hejuan, Caijing
18 November 2008

Shanghai cannot be left alone amidst the global economic turmoil. After the central bank launched ten initiatives in an economic stimulus package totalling 4 trillion yuan, Shanghai followed the call by putting together eight economic measures in expediting infrastructure, public services, and stabilizing the housing market.

The Shanghai City Party Committee Secretary, Yu Zhengsheng, the highest administrator at the city level, said at various occasions that Shanghai will carry out the most effective measures available to implement the central government’s initiative.

On November 11, the Shanghai city government invited a range of experts to a seminar on the eight initiatives. A participating expert told Caijing that Yu is concerned about the impact of the financial crisis on Shanghai’s economy, and with how Shanghai should maintain a rapid economic growth.

Another heated topic was how Shanghai should stabilize the real estate market. Yu said that ups and downs in housing market are dangerous and that the key to solving housing problems is to separate commercial housing from lower-income housing. For commercial housing, the government use fiscal policies, income policies, and land supply to regulate the market. With regard to low-income family housing, the government will implement a new policy in December based on public input.

Professor Zhang Xiong who attended the seminar told Caijing that this crisis has fomented a transformation in Shanghai, prompting the city to seek a new platform for economic growth. Yu’s words echo this: “We should not only rely on investment, but also science and technology to drive our economic growth,” he said on numerous occasions during the conference.

The eight initiatives include promoting railway and highway construction, enhancing environmental protection, promoting a harmonious society, encouraging investment in public services, encouraging high-quality medical and educational resources to relocate to outskirts of the city to accommodate Shanghai’s growing peripheral population, facilitating the application of scientific and technological achievements, and promoting employment.