By Cheng Jiajia and Zong He
As the first rays of morning sunlight reflect off the glass façades of multinational headquarters on Dalian Road, Yangpu, a new workday begins for office workers. Among the silhouettes, the bright yellow industrial-style logo of Vitesco Technologies stands out.
"My company is in Yangpu. It's like a window that keeps me connected to the pulse of Shanghai's development," says Gu Ruihua, the former president of Vitesco Technologies China, who has witnessed both the rise of corporate headquarters on Dalian Road and the continuous improvement of Yangpu's business environment over the past decade.
In November 2023, during the 6th China International Import Expo, Nike announced plans to establish the Nike Sports Research Lab (NSRL) at its Greater China headquarters in Yangpu, with completion set for 2024. The lab aims to serve athletes and Chinese consumers by focusing on tailored, needs-based solutions. Additionally, Henkel's consumer products R&D center, with an investment of around 100 million yuan, is set to open in January 2024 at Yangpu's Bay Valley Science Park, marking Henkel's largest R&D center in Asia.
Yangpu is a significant hub for foreign enterprises in Shanghai, currently hosting around 1,300 foreign-funded companies. Global giants like Nike, Siemens, Continental, Henkel, Vitesco Technologies, AECOM, and Dell continue to gather, while key foreign-invested projects have been springing up like mushrooms after the rain, infusing the business ecosystem with vitality.
According to the Implementation Plan for Promoting Foreign Investment in Shanghai, Yangpu has rolled out its own 2024 Plan for Stabilizing Foreign Investment in Yangpu District. The plan includes four key initiatives: attracting new foreign investments, enhancing the quality and capabilities of foreign enterprises, organizing brand promotional events, and strengthening protection for foreign investors. By focusing on these areas, Yangpu aims to create a welcoming environment for foreign capital, technology, and talent, and to establish the "Warm Yangpu" service brand for foreign businesses.
When Henkel initially sought a site for its R&D center, it faced strict requirements concerning space, environmental impact assessments, construction, and fire safety. The search for an appropriate site was long and difficult. After learning about these challenges, the local business services department in Xinjiangwan Sub-district proactively engaged with Henkel's representatives, thoroughly understanding their needs and eventually finding a suitable site on the rooftop of a building in Bay Valley Science Park. To address issues such as sewage treatment and rooftop signage placement, the department organized a "four-party discussion" mechanism, bringing together the park's developers, site owners, and Henkel, while also inviting functional departments to offer on-site guidance and develop a construction plan.
In 2023, Henkel's R&D center successfully began operations in Bay Valley Science Park. "We continuously explore optimal solutions to serve enterprises, simplify procedures, and strengthen government-business dialogue. This has helped companies move forward more smoothly," said a representative from Xinjiangwan Sub-district.
Clearly, providing services to enterprises and optimizing the business environment is a collaborative and complex process.
On another front, Yangpu is stepping up efforts to visit enterprises, accelerate project implementation, strengthen data analysis, attract headquarters and talent, and ensure effective city-district collaboration. Additionally, the district has clarified work responsibilities across 11 key areas, from hosting brand activities to protecting foreign investors' rights. Through the establishment of eight coordination mechanisms—including those for promoting foreign investment, communicating with Shanghai-based foreign institutions, and supporting project implementation—Yangpu is ensuring the success of its efforts to stabilize foreign investment.
At the 2023 German Enterprises in Yangpu Promotion Event and Sino-German Industry Roundtable, Siemens welcomed a delegation from the German Chamber of Commerce Abroad, representing more than 30 German enterprises. After touring Yangpu's waterfront and creative district and visiting companies like Siemens and Romon Technology, Martin Klose, Chief Representative of the German Chamber of Commerce in Guangzhou, expressed optimism about the future of Sino-German cooperation: "Yangpu's renowned university resources have already fostered collaborations with German academic institutions in various fields. We hope to expand these partnerships beyond academia in the future."
Such events are common in Yangpu, ranging from international entrepreneur roundtables to digital empowerment exchanges and foreign enterprise policy briefings. As Klose noted, fostering personal connections is key to strengthening business cooperation. "We are committed to creating more opportunities for dialogue to further enhance business collaboration."
Over the past five years, Yangpu has attracted 18 foreign headquarters and R&D centers, bringing the total to 44.
"Innovation has always been a key driver of our growth. We recognized early on that the needs of Chinese and Asian consumers differ from those of European consumers," said Sun Yingqing, Director of Henkel (China) Consumer Products R&D Center, at the center's groundbreaking.
By nurturing, encouraging, and supporting multinational enterprises to expand their business units and operations in the district, Yangpu continues to strengthen resource coordination and cooperation, safeguard foreign investment rights, and provide a "warm window" where foreign businesses can stay connected to Shanghai's development pulse.
