As a key financial center, Shanghai has further opened up its financial sector with a series of new regulations, with good effect. Total turnover of financial markets in 2019 in Shanghai rose 17.5 percent to 1,933 trillion yuan (about $280 trillion), and e-commerce gross merchandise volume increased by 14.5 percent.

From January to December 2019, e-commerce transactions reached 3.32 trillion yuan, up 14.7 percent year-on-year. The B2B trading volume was 1.99 trillion yuan, up 7.8 percent year-on-year.

Additionally, turnover in online shopping reached 1.32 trillion yuan, up 27.0 percent year-on-year (including 606.6 billion yuan of online shopping for commodities, up 27.9 percent year-on-year, and 712.2 billion yuan of online shopping for services, up 26.2 percent year-on-year).

A bird's eye view of the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai), which is located in the city's Hongqiao central business district [Photo provided to China Daily]