Shanghai has newly certified 30 regional headquarters of multinational corporations and 10 research and development centers during a ceremony held on July 11, further underscoring its lead in attracting foreign investment and hosting regional R&D centers.

The ceremony also witnessed the signing of 56 foreign-invested projects with a combined investment of about $3.68 billion, with 33 projects being signed on the spot.

"Shanghai is a natural choice for us as our China headquarters. This is the center that gathers various industry leaders thanks to its appeal in manufacturing, research and development, and engineering services," said Wang Qingzhou, chairman of Accelleron China.

Accelleron is a Switzerland-based turbocharging and fuel injection maker spun off from ABB in 2022.

According to Wang, currently, the Chinese market contributes about 15 percent of Accelleron's global business, and the company is confident of raising the number to 20 percent in the near future.

Italy-based sock machine manufacturer Lonati decided in late 2024 to bring its socks knitting machine manufacturing unit to Shanghai. The company chose Shanghai where to better facilitate the local market, and production started this year, said Tiziano Sandonini, Asia-Pacific CEO advisor of Lonati Shanghai.

"Maybe some products are still being produced in Italy, but the big part of the production is moving to China. Our competitors are here. If we want to compete with the same price, same production speed and development, you need to be here," Sandonini said.

In the first five months of this year, nearly 2,500 new foreign-invested enterprises were established in Shanghai, with actual foreign direct investment exceeding $7.6 billion. The number of regional headquarters and R&D centers of multinational companies reached 1,042 and 605, respectively, making the city one of the most attractive destinations for multinational corporations and a highly preferred place for multinational companies to deploy, according to the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce.

Shanghai will unswervingly expand high-level opening-up, continue to create a market-oriented, law-based, and first-class business environment, and deliver comprehensive support and services to bolster the development of foreign enterprises, the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce said.