A city on fast track to financial eminence

In late March, the State Council, China's Cabinet, approved Shanghai's plans to develop into one of the world's top financial and shipping centers by 2020.

Such efforts are not new. Since the opening up and reforms began 30 years ago, China has piloted many financial reforms in Shanghai. In the early 1990s, the Shanghai municipal government mapped out a long-term development blueprint. So how can Shanghai expedite its development to become a global financial hub?

Since the near-meltdown of the global financial system in the fall of 2008, leading financial hubs have been trying to cope with a growing brain drain. Established centers such as New York and London have been hit hard by the financial crisis, the worst since the Great Depression.