Shanghai has been an essential gateway of China's reform and opening up, and a pioneer of development in the country. From finance and trade to innovation, on Tuesday, city officials have been showcasing Shanghai's accomplishments and future plans. Liu Yang reports.

Shanghai is one of the few cities in the world with a complete system of financial markets, and its trading volumes of stock, foreign exchange and gold markets are now among the highest in the world. At a press conference on Tuesday, officials said with low to negative growth in energy and land use, Shanghai is striving to make itself more efficient and sustainable. Authorities also say they will push ahead with more reforms in the Pilot Free Trade Zone.

YING YONG, MAYOR SHANGHAI "The New area of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone will be more focused on liberalising investment and trade, a more open policy and institutional innovation and breakthroughs; stressing convenience for investors, free access of goods, capital flow, and openness of transportation."

Examples of innovation include the C919 passenger plane, a quantum communications satellite and the Jiaolong deep-sea submersible. Aviation, innovative drugs, smart manufacturing, new energy vehicles and other emerging industries are all developing rapidly in Shanghai.

CHEN YIN, EXECUTIVE VICE MAYOR SHANGHAI "In 2018, more than 1,300 new companies were registered for each working day in Shanghai, an increase of 11.8 percent year-on-year. 96 percent of them are private companies. There are more than 500 maker spaces in Shanghai, more than 90 percent of which were set up by private citizens."

Local officials cite Tesla as an example of Shanghai's economic attraction to the world. In 2018, Tesla announced that Shanghai would be the home of its first overseas assembly plant. The massive factory is supposed to produce 150 thousand Model3 electric cars each year. They should start hitting the Chinese market next year. Another example is the 2nd China International Import Expo in November which aims to attract high-quality goods and services into the Chinese market. More than 250 Fortune 500 companies and leading enterprises have confirmed they will take part.

LIU YANG BEIJING "In addition, the conference on Artificial Intelligence will be held in Shanghai later this year. The pilot zone for innovation and development of generation of AI were officially launched in May in Shanghai this year, and these are expected to further integrate the sophisticated technology into China's real economy. Liu Yang CGTN Beijing."