(Yicai) Feb. 6 -- Shanghai will spare no effort to steady foreign investment and overseas trade this year as companies face an increasingly complex external environment with multiple risks, from geopolitical tensions and policy shifts to currency volatility, according to the city’s recent Two Sessions, the annual meetings of Shanghai’s top legislative and political advisory bodies.

Shanghai will upgrade its role as an international trade center by speeding up trade innovation and structural transformation, according to the draft of the economic and social development of Shanghai during the 15th Five-Year Plan, which runs from 2026 to 2030. The metropolis will promote high-quality growth in new trade models, diversify and balance its trade markets and strengthen its role in global supply chain management.

“Upgrading Shanghai’s international trade center and strengthening its global supply chain management capabilities are the core levers,” Ji Shengjun, a deputy to the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress and chair of Orient International Holding, said at the Shanghai Two Sessions. “The city should improve cross-department coordination to support supply chains, simplify procedures for cross-border logistics and customs clearance as well as streamline international settlement processes. The city should also build a new global trade model featuring global order-taking, overseas processing and Shanghai-based settlement.”

Shanghai should create a collaborative ‘go-global’ ecosystem for the city's new energy vehicle industry by leveraging its complete industrial chain to promote overseas development, said Wang Xun, a deputy to the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress and chair of Shanghai Launch Automotive Technology.

Global economic and geopolitical uncertainty continues to rise. Only a small number of firms expanding abroad treat risk management as a strategic priority or have mature risk early-warning models, said Ma Wei, a deputy to the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress. The government should build a systematic risk-prevention support framework, develop more precise early warning services and raise pre-tax deduction limits for investment in overseas security measures and research and development.

The European Union is not only moving ahead with the full rollout of its carbon border tax this year, but it is also pushing to expand the scope of the levy, it said at the end of 2025. The tax will not only apply to basic materials such as steel, aluminum and cement, but also to downstream manufactured goods that use large amounts of steel and aluminum. The EU also plans to tighten oversight of transshipment and light-processing practices used to evade the tariff.

Relevant government departments should take the lead and build a standardized carbon data management system, said Wu Zuqiang, a deputy to the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress and deputy director of the Finance and Economic Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress.

For industries with large export volumes to Europe and higher exposure to the policy, organized efforts are needed to study and release EU-compliant guidelines for carbon emission accounting and data reporting, helping companies avoid costly trial-and-error explorations on their own, Wu said.

At the same time, Shanghai should accelerate the cultivation of third-party service providers with global credibility and local characteristics, he added. This includes nurturing and attracting carbon verification, certification and consulting firms as well as promoting international mutual recognition. This would allow companies to obtain EU-recognized verification and certification in their local areas at a more manageable cost.

Editor: Kim Taylor