{
  "id": 1944032,
  "title": "Shanghai lays out plan to boost digital economy, catch up with Beijing, Shenzhen",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/19/shanghai-lays-out-plan-to-boost-digital-economy-catch-up-with-beijing",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-08-19T13:30:09.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "SCMP Tech",
    "slug": "scmp-tech",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/tech/blockchain/article/3364593/shanghai-lays-out-plan-boost-digital-economy-catch-beijing-shenzhen"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Shanghai has unveiled a plan to bolster its digital economy by focusing on areas such as blockchain technology and AI infrastructure, in an attempt to rival other Chinese tech hotspots like Beijing and Shenzhen. The city's municipal government unveiled its five-year plan for a \"digital Shanghai\" on Wednesday, with a key goal of promoting the use of blockchain across various sectors, including finance, shipping, logistics, and green initiatives. Achieving blockchain adoption was the only mandatory target among 11 specific goals outlined in the plan. By 2025, blockchain use cases were expected to cover 60% of the city's economy, while the city aimed to achieve 100% adoption in key industries by 2030. Peng Peng, executive chairman of the government-affiliated think tank Guangdong Society of Reform, highlighted the \"fundamental role\" of blockchain in building Shanghai's digital future. The city's advantages, such as its economic scale, data volume, internationalization, and digital industrial base, render it well-suited to serve as a hub in a national blockchain network. Shanghai also plans to develop a \"solid digital intelligence foundation,\" which will involve establishing intelligent computing centers across different districts and ensuring that green power accounts for more than 80% of the energy used by these facilities. With an aim to have the digital economy's core industries contribute 20% to the regional GDP by 2030, Shanghai is keenly competing with other regions to accelerate its digital transformation. China's policymakers announced in March that they anticipate the nation's overall digital economy to make up 12.5% of the country's GDP.",
  "summary": "Shanghai has issued plans to boost its digital economy by doubling down on sectors including blockchain technology and AI infrastructure, as it steps up efforts to compete with other Chinese tech hubs such as Beijing and Shenzhen. In a new five-year plan for building “digital Shanghai”, the municipal government said on Wednesday that it aimed to promote the use of blockchain technology across…",
  "key_points": [
    "Shanghai's digital economy plan focuses on blockchain and AI infrastructure.",
    "By 2025, blockchain expected to cover 60% of city's economy.",
    "Shanghai aims to have digital economy's core industries contribute 20% to regional GDP by 2030."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "SCMP Business",
        "title": "Shanghai lays out plan to boost digital economy, catch up with Beijing, Shenzhen",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/19/shanghai-lays-out-plan-to-boost-digital-economy-catch-up-with-beijing-1944052",
        "published": "2026-08-19T13:30:09.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}