Shanghai has released its economic data for the first half of the year.
The city's gross domestic product (GDP) reached 2,788.663 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 5.6% at constant prices.
This growth rate not only exceeds the national average but also marks an improvement over Shanghai's own performance in recent years, continuing an upward trend from 5.0% in 2024 to 5.4% in 2025.
Core Drivers of Sustained Growth
The fundamental reason for this consistent acceleration lies in the rapid transformation and upgrading of Shanghai's industrial base and the continuous optimization of its economic structure.
A shift towards higher-value sectors and new growth drivers is providing sustained momentum for the megacity's economy.
Modern Services Sector Leads the Charge
Breaking down the figures by industry, the primary sector added 3.576 billion yuan in value, up 0.9% year-on-year.
The secondary sector's value-added reached 569.666 billion yuan, growing 4.7%, while the tertiary, or services, sector contributed 2,215.421 billion yuan, with a robust 5.9% growth.
The services sector remains the dominant force, with modern services showing particularly strong performance.
This segment, encompassing finance, information transmission, software and IT services, and leasing and business services, represents Shanghai's competitive strengths.
Buoyed by active markets, the financial sector's value-added surged 10.2% in the first half, providing the largest boost to the services industry.
Transaction volume across the city's major financial markets totaled 2,269.16 trillion yuan, a 24.1% increase.
Notably, the Shanghai Futures Exchange saw volume jump 53.9%, the Shanghai Gold Exchange rose 38.2%, the Shanghai Stock Exchange grew 35.2%, and the interbank market increased 16.6%.
The information transmission, software, and IT services sector followed closely, with value-added growing 9.1%, driven by strong momentum in artificial intelligence, integrated circuit design, and platform-based enterprises.
Shanghai's AI industry scale exceeded 600 billion yuan in 2025, and by the first half of this year, the city had approved 196 large AI models, accounting for nearly one-fifth of the national total.
Additionally, the leasing and business services sector grew 5.8%, covering areas like legal services, consulting, and human resources where Shanghai maintains a national lead.
Recent policy initiatives aim to further expand and enhance the quality of the services sector, targeting a service industry value-added of around 6 trillion yuan by 2030.
Modern services, characterized by high technology, human capital, and added value, are becoming a new engine for Shanghai's economy, deeply embedded in industrial chains and enhancing overall economic efficiency.
Industrial Resilience Provides Foundation
Shanghai's industrial sector demonstrated notable resilience, with value-added growing 5.6% in the first half, outperforming the national average.
This achievement came despite external supply chain pressures and rising input costs.
The growth was underpinned by a solid foundation built through prior transformation efforts.
Output from Shanghai's three leading industries—integrated circuits, biomedicine, and AI—increased by 14.5%, with IC and AI manufacturing each growing around 20%.
More broadly, output from strategic emerging industries rose 7.7%, led by new energy vehicles (up 33.9%), new energy (20.6%), and high-end equipment (9.3%).
The structural upgrade is also boosting international trade.
Shanghai's total goods import and export volume hit a record 2.55 trillion yuan, up 18.6%, with exports growing 20.1% to 1.14 trillion yuan.
Exports of high-tech products surged 34.5%, while exports of the "new three" products (EVs, lithium batteries, solar cells) doubled.
Industrial investment, a key indicator of future capacity, grew rapidly at 19.2%, significantly outpacing overall fixed asset investment growth of 6.8%.
Continued Momentum in Transformation
Shanghai continues to advance its economic restructuring with determination.
Recent measures include policies to further integrate AI with manufacturing, offering subsidies of up to 40 million yuan, and significant investment in future industries and early-stage hard tech projects.
New infrastructure projects, such as computing power networks and next-generation communication networks, are being accelerated.
Major projects are progressing on schedule, with 16 new projects commencing construction and 22 projects largely completed in the first half.
The city is also revitalizing commercial buildings, having completed upgrades for 13 projects covering approximately 580,000 square meters, transforming low-efficiency spaces into high-value industrial carriers.
Improvements in public welfare are evident, with urban infrastructure investment and social services investment growing 18.8% and 19.5%, respectively.
Urban renewal projects, including the renovation of old residential areas, are advancing rapidly, creating new space for developing advanced productive forces.
Shanghai's economic ascent is built on industrial renewal and striving for higher developmental levels.
Moving forward, the city will continue to build momentum through structural optimization and reform, leveraging the resilience gained from transformation to achieve greater gains with each leap forward.
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