Shanghai encouraged to expand its public spaces, create 'happy paradise'

President Xi Jinping, on a two-day inspection tour in Shanghai, called for further reform, opening-up and institutional innovation to improve the level of governance of the international metropolitan city.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, spoke at a meeting attended by local officials on Sunday, the last day of his tour.

He urged accelerated efforts to achieve overall high-level opening-up in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone to make it a significant base from which talented people, both at home and abroad, can develop internationally integrated innovation. He added that it should be an important hub for synergies between onshore and offshore business development, as well as an experimental field for international economic governance.

Maintaining focus is needed to advance the science and technology innovation board on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, as is experimenting with a registration system for listed companies, Xi said. He added that efforts should be made to improve the quality of listed companies and to strengthen supervisory measures.

The president stressed that Shanghai should exert itself to serve the Yangtze River Economic Belt and play a leading role in promoting the integration of the Yangtze River Delta by focusing on major projects and platforms in key area.

Xi called on Shanghai to improve its economic productivity, optimize the allocation of global resources and achieve major breakthroughs in key technologies, making innovation a strong driver of high-quality development.

He urged efforts to raise the level of internationalization in Shanghai's financial markets by leveraging the Belt and Road Initiative.