(Yicai Global) Jan. 25 -- Shanghai’s public expenditure budget for this year is CNY810.5 billion (USD125 billion), almost the same as last year, with a focus on improving people’s wellbeing, urban governance and industrial technology development.

The budget for 2021 has an emphasis on science and technology with the aim of promoting high-end industrial development, according to the draft released at the fifth session of the 15th Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress yesterday. Some CNY8.26 billion will go towards a special fund to boost investment in basic research, applied research and key core technology research in important areas.

“The budget for basic research has grown a lot this year and a considerable part of the expenditure is actually for the construction of large scientific devices,” Situ Guohai, a deputy of the city’s People’s Congress and a researcher at the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, told Yicai Global.

The economic powerhouse has allocated CNY6.66 billion (USD1 billion) to accelerate the development of integrated circuits, biomedicine, artificial intelligence, new energy vehicles, high-end equipment and advanced manufacturing industries, it added.

The city is promoting aircraft maker Comac’s C919 airplane with a view to it obtaining its airworthiness certificate this year and delivering its first model. It is also encouraging the release of carmaker SAIC Motor’s new marque Roewe R, the production of US electric car giant Tesla’s Model Y and additional production capacity for German auto manufacturer Volkswagen’s modular electric drive matrix.

“Every year, the government work report contains a large part about Shanghai’s high-end leading industries. This is a response by Shanghai to national strategy,” said Lu Xiaowei, another municipal congress member and general manager of Shanghai Zhangjiang Culture Holdings.

A further CNY48 billion (USD7.4 billion) will go towards increasing investment in transport infrastructure, ecological environment, suburban infrastructure, education, culture, health, sports and pension projects related to society and people’s wellbeing.

Editor: Kim Taylor