The good national policy of reform and opening up sped up Shanghai's development. The city's economic growth has maintained a very high level for many years. The income of the locals has increased and the standard of living improved.
However, underlying problems can not be ignored. The growth of economy is too dependent on manufacturing, especially heavy industry, which usually demands much more land and energy, often seriously polluting the environment. Other business segments such as the service industries occupy only a small portion of the industrial structure of the city. If the situation continues, it will unbalance or even damage the economy.
To solve the problem, Shanghai will continue to make efforts to transform the industrial structure and promote the advancement of service industries. Six new pillar-industries have been selected: information industry, financial services, commerce and trade, automobile manufacture, equipment assemblies and real estate. It is obvious that the city tends to accelerate the high-tech and service industries.
In this way the city can keep a balance between its economy and the environment. Moreover many local enterprises show increasing creativity and innovation in their development. More and more famous multinational corporations have set up their Asia Pacific headquarters in Shanghai. With the advent of World Expo 2010, the city will grow into an international metropolis to better serve and lead the economic development of the Yangtze River Delta, the Yangtze watershed and even all of China.