Jing'an brings Shanghai's 'Most International District' to San Francisco

Shanghai's Jing'an district presented its business environment, cultural appeal and fast-growing technology industries to California investors and companies at a promotional event on Wednesday, seeking new partners in the United States.

Zhai Lei, deputy secretary of the CPC Jing'an District Committee and district mayor, highlighted the district's strengths in efficiency, service and vision.

"Home to more than 300 American companies, Jing'an is a dedicated partner to our US stakeholders," he told an audience of about 100.

Describing Jing'an as a district that combines the heritage of old Shanghai with the energy of a global business hub, Zhai said its per capita GDP has reached $53,000 to $55,000 in recent years.

Jing'an takes its name from Jing'an Temple, a Buddhist landmark that is centuries old. The modern district was formed in 2015, when the former Zhabei district merged with Jing'an. Covering about 37 square kilometers in the heart of Shanghai, it is home to roughly 931,000 residents and has been named a "National Civilized District" six times in a row.

The district is best known for its commercial strength. West Nanjing Road, often called Shanghai's "Fifth Avenue", draws global retailers looking to make their mark in China. Starbucks opened its first Reserve Roastery outside Seattle at 789 West Nanjing Road in December 2017. The 2,700-square-meter store was the company's largest in the world at the time. When it opened, crowds were so large that district commerce officials volunteered to help keep order, a story Jing'an still cites as an example of its hands-on service.

Luxury houses have followed. Louis Vuitton opened its first and largest Maison on the Chinese mainland in the district, and the HKRI Taikoo Hui complex, home to about 250 brands, has become a favored launchpad for China debuts. More than 80 office buildings in Jing'an each generate over 100 million yuan ($14 million) in annual tax revenue, a sign of how densely packed the district's business activity is.

Zhai said efficiency is central to Jing'an's appeal. Under its 2026 action plan for a world-class business environment, the district is building one-stop services that cover company setup, talent, cross-border data and support for foreign residents, all handled through a single window.

The district's economy rests on three established strengths, namely fashion consumption, financial services and professional services. Three sectors of data intelligence, cultural creativity and life sciences are emerging. It is also investing in frontier fields such as embodied AI, brain-computer interfaces, new energy storage and quantum technology.

Zhang Lizhen, head of Jing'an's Pengpu Xincun subdistrict, led a roadshow on one of the district's newest focus areas, the ultra-high-definition (UHD) audiovisual industry. Shanghai designated Jing'an as the city's UHD audiovisual industry cluster in December 2024, and the district offers qualified companies up to 50 million yuan in combined support. As of September, Jing'an was home to 429 UHD-related companies, including Ximalaya and Digital Domain, and had added 227 new projects this year.

Zhang said the cluster links research institutions, chipmakers, display manufacturers and content creators into a full industrial chain, with AI-powered content production as a key area of growth.

"We aim to build a full support ecosystem for our partners," she said. The district has taken this message abroad before, including a roadshow in Amsterdam during the International Broadcasting Convention in 2025.

The San Francisco event follows Jing'an's investment promotion at the 9th China International Import Expo on Nov 7, where intended purchase orders signed by the district's companies reached a record high.

"We welcome our friends from Jing'an to showcase their strengths, and we hope this gathering will generate more collaboration between the East and the West," said Xiaohua Yang, a professor at the University of San Francisco's Center for Asia Pacific Studies, who helped organize the event.

"We are waiting in Jing'an to welcome our American friends," Zhai said.