Under the "go-out" strategy, Shanghai will foster a group of influential multinationals and establish a group of overseas production bases to boost its transfer of matured industries to overseas and the export of raw materials, equipment and spare parts, Shanghai vice-mayor Jiang Yiren said recently.

The eastern China city also aims to greatly expand its share in the international civil engineering market and related labor service so that the contract value in the next five years will exceed that of all the previous contracts combined.

Shanghai's telecommunications, software, microelectronics, digital technology, biomedicine, new materials, automotive, garment design and other industries will set up development and research centers and design centers in developed countries.

Shanghai plans to transfer its matured industries to southeast Asia, southern Africa as well as Russia, eastern Europe and South America.

It will carry out resource exploitation projects mainly in Australia and South America, and hi-tech development projects in Europe, the United States and Japan.

The vice-mayor pledged the government's support to enterprises, including private businesses for their "go-out" operations.

Shanghai's GDP per capita has reached US$4,000, equivalent to the level of emerging industrialized countries and regions. Analysts say this shows the city has basically got the resources to start its "go-out" strategy.

By the end of 2000, Shanghai had invested US$320 million in 580 projects in about 70 countries and regions, and sent more than 30,000 peoples out to engage in labor services there.

(Xinhua News Agency 07/06/2001)