Shanghai rises as global design hub with 1.7 trillion yuan output

Shanghai is poised to become a world-class design city, with its creative design industry output exceeding 1.7 trillion yuan ($253 billion), according to official sources.

"In recent years, Shanghai has made significant strides in enhancing the cultural and creative competitiveness of its design industry, and a comprehensive industry chain for cultural and creative design is taking shape," said Zhu Zhongming, acting mayor of Shanghai, at the opening ceremony of the 2026 World Design Cities Conference on Monday.

With its creative design industry now surpassing 1.7 trillion yuan, Shanghai's design sector has emerged as a new hallmark of the city, Zhu noted. "Design plays a crucial role in representing a city's cultural soft power and acts as a catalyst for high-quality economic and social development," he added, emphasizing that Shanghai will fully leverage its strengths in the creative design industry to build a world-class industrial system.