The Shanghai Hongqiao International Central Business District (CBD) solidified its status as a global trade hub in 2025, achieving remarkable progress in cross-border trade, international cooperation, and institutional opening-up.
Cross-border trade flourished, supported by extensive global partnerships. The district's total goods trade volume surged 19.9 percent year-on-year to 102.7 billion yuan ($14.8 billion), with trade expanding across more than 150 countries and regions.
Imports from the United States and France rose significantly, with France seeing a 103.9 percent jump. Exports to Japan and Germany saw steady increases.
Trade with Belt and Road partner countries, RCEP members, and ASEAN nations increased by 24.3 percent, 23.0 percent, and 25.7 percent year-on-year, respectively.
Cross-border e-commerce witnessed explosive growth, with imports and exports soaring 380 percent year-on-year to 14.63 billion yuan. Service trade rose 11.77 percent year-on-year to $17.9 billion.
The CBD amplified its international platform effects. At the eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Hongqiao, intended transactions skyrocketed to 83.49 billion yuan, and 461 cutting-edge products were unveiled.
It hosted 382 events supporting overseas expansion, assisting nearly 9,000 enterprises. It added 45 new municipal-level headquarters of multinational corporations, bringing the total to 283.
To enhance global connectivity, the CBD established a cross-border data service center, increased the number of tax refund stores for international visitors to 74, and streamlined visa services.
Its "Silk Road Horizon" e-commerce training program welcomed more than 200 participants from 65 countries.
Foreign passenger arrivals at Hongqiao Airport rose 25.4 percent year-on-year to 7.9 million, led by visitors from South Korea, Japan, and the United States.
As China embarks on its 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), Hongqiao aims to deepen institutional openness, accelerate upgrades to the trade structure, and solidify its role as the primary gateway for Yangtze River Delta enterprises going global.
