Against the backdrop of slowing global economic growth, Shanghai, China's largest economic hub, demonstrated strong resilience in the first half of 2026. Data released by the Shanghai Municipal Statistics Bureau on July 20 showed that the city's gross domestic product (GDP) hit 2.79 trillion yuan in the first six months of the year, up 5.6 percent year on year in real terms, 0.5 percentage points higher than the growth recorded in the same period last year.
A robot demonstrates precision operation during the 2026 World AI Conference in Shanghai, east China, July 19, 2026. (Photo: Xinhua)
Shanghai, China's first city to surpass 5 trillion yuan in annual GDP, saw advanced technology, financial markets, and foreign trade emerge as key highlights of its first-half economic performance.
By sector, the city's primary industry generated an added value of 3.58 billion yuan, up 0.9 percent year on year. The secondary industry expanded 4.7 percent to 569.67 billion yuan, while the tertiary industry grew 5.9 percent to 2.22 trillion yuan.
Shanghai's three leading industries, integrated circuits, artificial intelligence (AI), and biopharmaceuticals, continued to drive growth, with manufacturing output rising 14.5 percent year on year. Output in integrated circuit manufacturing increased 19.5 percent, AI manufacturing climbed 21.8 percent, and biopharmaceutical manufacturing rose 7.2 percent. The recently concluded 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai attracted more than 1,100 exhibitors, with over 300 products making their global debut, including humanoid robots and large language model applications, underscoring the city's role as a key hub in the global AI value chain.
The financial sector, a cornerstone of Shanghai's modern services economy, remained a major contributor to overall growth. In the first half, the city's financial industry generated 496.42 billion yuan in value added, up 10.2 percent year on year, while turnover across Shanghai's major financial markets stood at 2,269.16 trillion yuan, an increase of 24.1 percent.
Shanghai's investment is increasingly concentrated in high-tech industries. Fixed-asset investment rose 6.8 percent year on year in the first half, while investment in high-tech industries surged 36 percent. Bolstered by the rapid expansion of the city's three leading industries, investment in equipment upgrades for intelligent models, computing power platforms, and related areas continued to increase, driving investment in information transmission, software, and information technology services up 140 percent from a year earlier.
Foreign trade also reached a new milestone. Total imports and exports of goods amounted to 2.5 trillion yuan in the first six months, up 18.6 percent year on year and marking a record high for the same period. Exports rose 20.1 percent to 1.14 trillion yuan, while imports increased 17.4 percent to 1.41 trillion yuan.
Consumer spending also continued to expand, with total retail sales of consumer goods reaching 831.97 billion yuan in the first half, up 0.7 percent year on year.
Zeng Gang, chief expert and director of the Shanghai Institution for Finance & Development, said Shanghai's ability to sustain growth amid persistent global trade frictions demonstrates the city's strong resilience as an international economic center.
"Shanghai delivered one of the strongest performances among China's largest cities in the first half of the year, highlighting the resilience of this megacity and the effectiveness of its economic transformation," Jing Jianguo, distinguished expert at the Shanghai Financial Association and director of the Offshore Finance Research Institute, told the International Financial News. He said the financial sector's 10.2 percent growth was the single largest contributor to the city's economic expansion, adding that financial services remain a key pillar supporting GDP growth and the expansion of trade in services.
Xiao Benhua, deputy director of the Free Trade Zone Research Institute at Shanghai Lixin University of Accounting and Finance, said the rapid growth in high-tech investment reflects Shanghai's sustained efforts to deepen the integration of technological innovation with industrial development.