The Huangpu River divides the Chinese city of Shanghai between the ancient settlement in the west and the newer financial center in the east.
Johannes Eisel | Afp | Getty Images
China’s latest wave of Covid restrictions has forced millions of people – nearly three times the number of people living in New York City – to stay home and undergo mass virus testing in Shanghai.
With Covid cases starting to rise in late February, Shanghai has tried to control the outbreak with targeted closures in neighborhoods. But the city, a global hub for transportation, manufacturing, finance and commerce, decided in late March to implement a two-phase lockdown that was soon applied to all areas, generally forcing people not to leave their apartments.
Most people outside of China know Shanghai is big, but few realize how big the economy is. The following numbers indicate the size of Shanghai as an economic center – and may indicate the cost of closing.
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World Trade Center
Shanghai is located at the mouth of the Yangtze River, one of the two major rivers in China.
According to Bernstein:
- Shanghai is home to the world’s busiest port, followed by Singapore.
- Shanghai’s Pudong Airport is the third busiest cargo airport in the world, after Memphis, Tennessee and Hong Kong.
In all, Shanghai accounted for 7.3% of China’s exports and 14.4% of imports in 2021, according to Citi.
Manufacturing and corporate center
According to Citi, Shanghai is China:
- The most important semiconductor manufacturing center, home to SMIC, Hua Hong and Universal Scientific Industrial.
- Home to several auto producers: SAIC Motor, SAIC’s joint venture companies with Volkswagen, GM, Nio, Tesla and Ford.
- Headquarters or main center of operations of multinational companies in China: Apple, L’Oreal, Samsung Electronics, P&G, L’Oreal, LVMH, Nike, Panasonic, Philips, Johnson & Johnson, General Electric, etc.
- Ship Producer Base: Jiangnan, Zhonghua, Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding.
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Consumer hub
In Shanghai, the official figures for 2021 show:
- Average disposable income is 78,027 yuan ($12,288) — more than double the nationwide average of 35,128 yuan ($5531).
- Average consumer spending is 48,879 yuan – double the national average of 24,100 yuan.
US wholesale chain Costco has chosen Shanghai to set up its first store in China in 2019.
As of last year, Shanghai was home to the most coffee shops in the country, with roughly 3 stores per 10,000 people, versus a ratio of about 2 in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Beijing, according to MyTuan.
Shanghai is home to three of the top 20 universities in China, according to US News and World Report.
The number of foreigners living in Shanghai fell to 163,954 people in 2020, down 21% compared to a decade earlier, according to official statistics. The southern province of Guangdong is now home to the most foreigners in China, with more than 400,000.
The total number of foreigners in the country during those 10 years rose by about 40% to 1.4 million people – or about 0.1% of China’s population.