Fengxian district in southern Shanghai will continue to boost the development of the cosmetics industry in the construction of Fengxian new town during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) to help more global investors turn their dreams into reality.

In recent years, Fengxian has become famous nationally thanks to its beauty and cosmetics industrial cluster named Oriental Beauty Valley, a project which started in 2015 to boost regional economic upgrading and transformation.

By 2020, the valley was home to more than 3,000 brands with an annual sales volume reaching 30 billion yuan ($4.65 billion). It is in full swing to become a world-class cosmetics and health industrial cluster, an official said.

The ongoing construction of five new towns in the suburbs of Shanghai are expected to create more opportunities for the district. Fengxian will seize the opportunity and develop its key industries, hoping to create more breakthroughs and growth poles in the next phase, said Zhuang Mudi, Party secretary of Fengxian.

Fengxian plans to double the total output of Oriental Beauty Valley, a vital part of its future economic growth, to 100 billion yuan by 2025.

The development of three pillar industries－biopharmaceuticals, beauty and cosmetics, and food and health products－will be highlighted over the next five years.

According to Fengxian government, beauty and cosmetic enterprises with official manufacturing certification in the region account for 35 percent of Shanghai's total. Their industrial output exceeds 41 percent of the city's overall volume.

Aiming to be a capital of global cosmetics, Fengxian hopes to attract more leading industry players to Oriental Beauty Valley. It has gathered a number of makeup giants from both home and abroad, such as Shiseido, L'Oreal and Pechoin.

While planning to lift its biopharmaceutical industry's value to 40 billion yuan by 2025, Fengxian also targets the emerging needs of consumers. It is developing high-end products, which aim to increase the value of its food and related sectors to 20 billion yuan by 2025.

Fengxian has seen an influx of companies. From January to May, more than 50,000 new enterprises were registered in Fengxian, a 25.5 percent increase year-on-year.

Meanwhile, it reported the fastest-growing fiscal revenue among local districts in the first half. Regional fiscal revenue exceeded 14 billion yuan, 36 percent year-onyear.

With around 500,000 enterprises in the region, Fengxian has promised to create a first-class business environment.

In July, Fengxian inked agreements with the Shanghai Federation of Industry and Commerce and the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce to establish two pilot zones. These will promote high-quality business development, strengthen business cooperation and make the district attractive for investment.

Fengxian continuously improves its policies and measures to support enterprises' development in the region.

To strengthen communication with enterprises, Fengxian government has hosted regular breakfast meetings since 2020. Companies' management are invited to have breakfast with Fengxian officials to talk about any problems they face and seek solutions.

As of July 15, a total of 46 breakfast meetings had been held with more than 130 companies. Various industries have participated, such as biomedicine, cultural innovation, manufacturing and finance.