"Vanguard" and "pioneer" are not crown signs that represent success and fame. In the new era and new journey,

To be a vanguard of reform and opening up and a forerunner of innovation and development is the strategic positioning given to Shanghai by the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core, and the development requirements for Shanghai. It is the consensus and pursuit that the whole city of Shanghai has kept in mind. Being the vanguard of reform and opening up and the forerunner of innovation and development are not independent of each other, but are mutually reinforcing.

Positioning determines status, and pattern determines the way out. Since the reform and opening up, Shanghai's positioning in the national strategy has generally gone through three stages of development and changes:

The first stage is the "defender" at the beginning of reform and opening up.

In the 1980s, in order to support the "ice-breaking" and "water-testing" of reform and opening up on the southeast coast, Shanghai effectively played the role of "ballast stone", mainly providing a stability foundation and corresponding material support functions.

At that time, Shanghai contributed one-sixth of the country's fiscal revenue and one-eighth of its industrial output. One-third of the country's imports and one-third of the daily necessities allocation came from Shanghai.

The second stage begins with the development and opening up of Pudong. Shanghai's role has changed from "defender" to "forward", and it has bravely served as the vanguard of reform and opening up.

From a national perspective, as reform and opening up continues to advance in depth, there are still many aspects that need to boldly "break problems" and "break through barriers"; from a Shanghai perspective, traditional industrial advantages are gradually declining, and the crisis that has arisen has prompted people to seek new breakthroughs in reform and opening up. powerful motivation. The convergence of these two forces has made Pudong's development and opening up an important "movement" in the "grand chess game" of deepening reform and opening up. Driven by the development and opening up of Pudong, Shanghai is radiating great vitality. Economic and social development and urban construction "are the same every year, but change drastically in three years."

Entering the 21st century, Shanghai has continuously seized the strategic opportunities of China's accession to the World Trade Organization and hosting the 2010 World Expo, maintained long-term rapid economic and social development, and continued to be a vanguard of reform and opening up.

The third stage is that since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Shanghai has pursued "higher quality GDP", pioneered on the road of scientific development and innovative development, and become a pioneer in innovative development.

In the ten years after the World Expo, in the process of building Shanghai's "Five Centers" and a modern international metropolis, the city's GDP has continuously exceeded the 2 trillion yuan, 3 trillion yuan, and 4 trillion yuan mark, ranking first among global cities. Fourth, per capita GDP reaches the level of moderately developed countries.

But at the same time, rising labor costs, increasing resource and environmental constraints, and the slowdown in rapid economic growth have made Shanghai once again face a major adjustment in its development model. "Being the vanguard of reform and opening up and the forerunner of innovation and development" has become Shanghai's new positioning in the overall development of the country.

It can be said that the courage to be the vanguard of reform and opening up and the pioneer of innovation and development constitutes a distinct main line that runs through Shanghai's reform and development for more than 40 years. This is the strategic positioning given to Shanghai by the central government, and it is an inevitable choice for Shanghai to undertake its national mission and promote its own development.

Entering the new era, Shanghai insists on studying and implementing the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech during his inspection of Shanghai and the important instructions and requirements for Shanghai’s work as the prominent main thread throughout, and implements the major strategic tasks assigned by the Party Central Committee with the attitude of a vanguard and the responsibility of a forerunner. In place, a new situation has been created for the vigorous development of various undertakings.

The internal logic of mutual promotion between reform and opening up and innovation and development——

Reform and opening up means, on the premise of maintaining the fundamental socialist system unchanged, internally by continuously eliminating institutional obstacles that restrict the development of productive forces to enhance the vitality of the development of the whole society, externally by "bringing in and going out" and actively participating in international exchanges and international affairs. Competition, learning and introduction of foreign capital, technology, talents and experience to promote the healthy and rapid development of the national economy.

Innovative development specifically refers to a higher-level new development model that shifts from being traditionally driven by labor, resources and energy to being driven by technological innovation. On the one hand, successful reform and opening up is a prerequisite for innovative development. Reform and opening up can create a relaxed atmosphere for innovation and development, inject new momentum, open up vast space, and provide all-round support and guidance for innovation and development. On the other hand, innovation is the lifeblood of reform and opening up. Among the various elements and mechanisms that promote reform and opening up, innovation-driven development is the key element and mechanism, and it is also the source of motivation for further deepening reform and opening up.

Reform and opening up and innovative development are the "twin engines" of high-quality development——

In the new era and new journey, the Pudong Leading District, Lingang New Area, Hongqiao International Central Business District, and the Yangtze River Delta Ecological Green Integrated Development Demonstration Zone must play the role of experimental fields, be at the forefront, and set a good example.

In particular, we must resolutely tackle reform, promote the construction of free trade pilot zones, focus on the core of institutional innovation, strengthen the integration of reform systems, and form more institutional innovation achievements that Pudong can break through, Shanghai can promote, and the whole country can learn from.

At the same time, to speed up the construction of a science and technology innovation center with global influence, a key task is to concentrate on building a comprehensive national science center in Zhangjiang and give full play to the role of the main hosting area of ​​the Lingang Science and Technology Innovation Center.

Practice has proved that it is precisely because Shanghai has always insisted on combining expanding opening up with deepening reform, combining its cultivation function with policy innovation, and giving full play to the multiplier effect of the "dual engines" of reform, opening up and innovative development that it has been able to "create things that have impressed the world." The new miracle shows a new atmosphere in building a modern socialist country."

In the past ten years, an international economic, financial, trade, and shipping center has been basically built, and a scientific and technological innovation center with global influence has formed a basic framework; the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone has produced more than 300 institutional innovations and has been replicated and promoted nationwide; a high starting point has been promoted to promote social development The socialist modernization drive leads the construction of the district, accelerates the cultivation of the special economic functions of the Lingang New Area, continuously amplifies the effects of the Science and Technology Innovation Board and the registration system, and makes every effort to promote the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta to be deeper and more solid.

With institutional innovation as the core, Shanghai's opening up continues to increase; in the process of comprehensively deepening reform and opening up, Shanghai's innovation and development are changing with each passing day.

Standing at a new starting point, embarking on a new journey, what is the main direction of being a vanguard of reform and opening up and a forerunner of innovation and development? What’s the big catch? A clear answer is to continue to strengthen the "four major functions", deepen the construction of the "five centers", fully stimulate the vitality of modernization construction, and better play the role of pioneering, demonstrating and leading, and making breakthroughs in tackling difficulties.

One of the starting points is to make full use of the "key move" to strengthen global resource allocation and open hub portal functions.

Shanghai is the forefront of reform and opening up and the window through which the world observes China. No matter how the times develop, reform and opening up will always be the "key move."

It is necessary to enhance the global operation level of operating entities by strengthening the global resource allocation function, making the capital factor market bigger and stronger, and efficiently allocating key strategic elements such as talents, technology, and data.

It is necessary to enhance the radiation ability of high-quality development by strengthening the opening hub portal function. Dovetail with international high-standard economic and trade rules such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement, and deepen institutional openness such as rules, regulations, management, and standards; promote high-quality development through the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" and the "Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement" will be implemented in depth, enhance the competitiveness of "going global", and deepen trade and investment liberalization and facilitation.

Regarding the construction of the "Five Centers", in key areas such as cross-border finance, digital trade, offshore trade, and high-end shipping services, it is necessary to continue to improve international competitiveness and industry voice. At the same time, we will further promote internal opening up, better leverage Shanghai’s leading role in the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, deepen market-oriented reforms, and stimulate endogenous motivation for integrated development.

The second starting point is to dare to make good use of the "first driving force" to strengthen the source of scientific and technological innovation and the leading function of high-end industries.

At present, the world's major changes unseen in a century are accelerating and a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation are developing in depth. Shanghai must undertake more "stuck" technological breakthrough tasks based on innovative development and seize more opportunities in cutting-edge industries; by focusing on basics Research and tackle key core technologies, strengthen the source function of scientific and technological innovation, and stimulate the surging power of high-quality development.

For example, focus on the Zhangjiang Comprehensive National Science Center and strive for greater efforts to implement pilot policies in the National Independent Innovation Demonstration Zone; focus on high-tech industries and key enterprises, strengthen the leading function of high-end industries, and play a demonstration role in high-quality development.

Another example is to accelerate the digital transformation and green and low-carbon transformation of traditional industries, vigorously develop three leading industries and six key industries, pre-plan four new track industries and five future industry directions, and actively build a modern, green and integrated industry. , three-dimensional industrial system.

Another example is to support the development of leading companies, "unicorn" companies, and "hidden champion" companies, cultivate world-class companies with benchmarking significance, spawn a dynamic innovation ecosystem, create an innovation culture that dares to venture and fight, and create an innovation-oriented enterprise. The source of ideas and the "nuclear explosion point" of the new track.

In the new era and new journey, "vanguard" and "pioneer" are not crown signs that represent success and fame, but benchmarks and flags that represent the country's participation in the world's top division of labor and top competition. On the occasion of the 45th anniversary of reform and opening up, the 10th anniversary of the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, and the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone, it is important to deepen high-level reform and opening up to fully stimulate the motivation and vitality of high-quality development. The fundamental requirement to study and implement Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is an inevitable requirement to accelerate Shanghai's modernization on the new journey, and an urgent need to be more proactive in responding to situations, cultivating new opportunities, and opening new games.