Enterprises have the final say in accessing the quality of the business environment.

On the first working day of the Chinese New Year, the 2025 Baoshan District Business Environment Optimization and Investment Promotion Conference was successfully held. 36 key projects with a total investment exceeding 30 billion yuan were signed and launched, and major projects with a total investment close to 100 billion yuan kicked off.

Beyond the impressive figures, enterprises are more concerned with how “investment” transitions to “capacity”. The underlying support for this process is not a “special green light” for a specific case, but a comprehensive strategy and concerted effort from various departments.

In the new year, Baoshan will improve the integrated investment promotion services pilot, accelerating the release of reform benefits. It will also actively create a business environment tailored to the needs of various industries and segmenting industries, and deliver targeted services to enterprises even before they request them.

“By adhering to targeted policies, promoting reform and innovation, and grasping development opportunities, we will make policy support more powerful,” said an official, “We shall remain confident, leap forward with determination, and maintain a competitive, rapid pace to lay a solid foundation for economic and social development throughout the year.”

Integrated Investment Promotion Service Center

Some administrative approval processes are lengthy and involve numerous departments, leaving businesses facing the problem of “fragmented governance”.

In November last year, Baoshan took the lead in the city by establishing a district-level integrated investment promotion service center, exploring a more practical, entity-based operation model. Focusing on the entire project lifecycle—from investment promotion and project launch, construction and production, to growth—the center ensures that projects are well managed from the beginning, promoting incremental growth through existing projects.

To make the services more convenient, the center implemented the “Three Fixed” centralized office model and checklist-based tracking and supervision mechanisms. In response to necessary needs, department heads attend meetings “with their stamps in hand” to ensure administrative services are improved in both quality and efficiency through practical measures.

The reform achievements are not limited to “first orders” or “individual cases.” This year, Baoshan plans to upgrade and build a “1+13+X” integrated investment promotion service network, covering 13 industrial parks, and “X” areas such as services for key enterprises, the “shares-based initial investment” initiative, and key enterprise application scenarios. The goal is to continuously improve mechanisms, optimize processes, and address problems at their roots through cooperation between different departments.

After extensively collecting feedback, the center will focus on identifying common needs and begin drafting and refining five key processes, including guidelines for managing construction land in the Wusong Innovation City, flowcharts for industrial land project implementation, and operational procedures for projects outside industrial parks requiring environmental assessments. This will help standardize processes and promote overall administrative service efficiency.

Special Policies for Different Enterprises

Major projects with a total investment near 100 billion yuan require both standardized administrative services and differentiated resources.

From robotics to new materials, different industries have varying demands on the business environment. Enterprises at different stages of development also have distinct needs. Addressing these needs under multiple constraints requires that the government study the rule of economic development and scientifically allocate resources.

This year, Baoshan will prioritize enhancing the tailored business environment for different industries. Specifically, the district will promote standardized government services and provide targeted and one-stop services for certain needs of enterprises in varied industries, thereby facilitating project completion. For example, Baoshan will release “one industry, one list” for services related to key industries, integrating enterprise-related services into the industrial chain and adding value-added services in each stage. It will also issue industry-specific compliance guidelines, offering full-process compliance guidance to minimize high-frequency, high-risk compliance issues.

Targeted policies require breakthroughs in institutional reform, with an emphasis on systemic and holistic approaches. This means services for innovation, entrepreneurship, and talent recruitment should be targeted.

Taking the example of technology and innovation services, Baoshan has launched the “shares-based initial investment” initiative, turning traditional government subsidies into equity investment to solve market failure issues for critical projects. Over the past three years, over 150 million yuan has been allocated to support enterprise development, and this policy is now gradually being promoted across the Yangtze River Delta.

Regarding talent recruitment, the 5th Baoshan “Sci-Tech Cup” Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition continues to “attract talent through competition” and “attract investment through competition.” This year, in addition to the existing award categories, first-prize projects with major potential will have the opportunity to be upgraded to special prize projects, with a total prize pool of up to 1.5 million yuan. Additionally, the competition will have a sub-competition in Fuzhou, Fujian. “Bringing the competition to the industrial chain,” it aims to gather top research institutions and leading enterprises in the fields of green and low-carbon technology, new-generation information technology, and intelligent manufacturing.

New Spaces for New Growth

To achieve breakthroughs in regional development, the demonstration areas are essential. Currently, Baoshan is actively promoting the coordinated development of three major regions: Wusong, Nanda, and Baoshan Riverside, focusing on urban renewal, transformation development, and industrial clustering. This will drive the concentration of key resources in focal areas, thereby promoting industrial upgrades, and creating new spaces for the future development.

Wusong Innovation City will sequentially advance land acquisition, launch Phase 1 of the Steel Park and the Wusong Art and Education Center, and accelerate the development of the core area for transformation and urban renewal.

Nanda Smart City, focusing on high-intensity and multi-dimensional development, will attract technology-driven industries and build a digital twin city. This year, the Nanda Central Park, covering 300 acres, will be completed, along with the second phase of the Lambda Oasis.

Baoshan will promote the development of Baoshan Riverside and promote investments to enhance its functionality, thus increasing its ability to attract and retain tourists. A series of projects, including the Changtan Observation Tower, Water Sports Experience Center, and the renovation of the Shanghai Yangtze River Estuary Science Museum, will be completed. Besides, the tourist services such as the “Wusongkou Sunrise Index” will be promoted.