Shanghai sets development targets for 2025

Shanghai's gross domestic product is expected to grow by around 5 percent in 2025 as the city enters a new phase in terms of urban economic scale, with the city's GDP surpassing 5 trillion yuan ($682 billion) last year, said Mayor Gong Zheng on Wednesday.

The growth of per capita disposable income of Shanghai residents will keep pace with economic growth, with the increase in consumer prices projected at about 2 percent, said Gong when delivering the Shanghai Municipal Government Work Report at the annual session of the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress, the city's legislative body.

Shanghai's other key proposed targets for the year ahead outlined in the government work report included that the city plans to allocate research and development expenditure equivalent to around 4.5 percent of its total GDP, and the surveyed urban unemployment rate is aimed at below 5 percent.

Shanghai aims to further reduce energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP to contribute to environmental sustainability. Also, key projects focusing on reducing major pollutants will strive to meet national emission reduction targets, said Gong.