Innovation Propels Development and Construction of the North Bund

The effect picture of Shanghai North Bund Center, the tallest building (480 meters) in Puxi

The North Bund of Shanghai and the Golden Triangle of the Huangpu River. The North Bund, located at the intersection of the Huangpu River and the Suzhou Creek, boasts of its superior geographical location. Since the launch of a new round of development and construction in 2020, several great projects have been fully launched, and high-energy projects and global conferences have been landing one after another. The North Bund has gained momentum in all aspects.

Li Qian, Chief of the CPC District Committee, also sees in the field survey that the speed of land transfer, the progress in project planning and operation, and the agglomeration degree of industrial functions at the North Bund is not as expected. How to find the right solution to the problem and face the challenges? Let's take a look at Li Qian's thinking.

The North Bund, located at the intersection of the Huangpu River and the Suzhou Creek, has a 3.4-kilometer waterfront line, facing Lujiazui and the Bund across the water. It enjoys the same century frame on both sides of the Huangpu River as an important corner of Shanghai's Golden Triangle. It has always received high attention from the central government, the municipal Party committee, the municipal government, and various sectors of society, and it has been hailed as a golden location many times. The 11th Hongkou District Party Congress proposed the strategic goal of accelerating the construction of the North Bund of Shanghai and the Golden Triangle of the Huangpu River. During the survey, Li realized that to promote the high-quality transformation of the grand blueprint into a construction drawing and the live picture, the development and construction of the North Bund should adhere to a high starting point, high standards and high-quality, accelerate the pace of innovation, to create an important display window of the Chinese path to modernization.

Since the launch of a new round of development and construction in 2020, the North Bund has gathered global wisdom and urban strength, and it has now fully gained momentum. In the field survey, several major projects such as Shanghai North Bund Center, the 480-meter new landmark in Puxi, Ascott International Talent Apartment, and the Phase II Sky Corridor are accelerating construction, but the speed of land transfer, the progress in project planning and operation, and the agglomeration degree of industrial function are not as expected. To build an important display window of the Chinese path to modernization, we must find out key problems, meet difficulties, and seize every minute for acceleration. To better overcome the bottleneck problems that constrain development and high-quality development, we have opened up the way through survey and solved the problem through survey. Moreover, we adhere to the trinity of construction form, industry format, and regional functions, starting from the synchronous shaping of hard support, strong engine, and new impetus, and promote the speed and efficiency of the development and construction of the North Bund, thus radiating and driving the high-quality development of Hongkou.

Hard support: Major engineering construction requires acceleration

Today's major project is tomorrow's important productivity. This year, there are 22 major engineering projects in the North Bund area, with a total investment of over 80 billion yuan. It is planned to start construction of 6 projects and complete 4 projects. Shanghai North Bund Center is undergoing pile foundation construction. In the future, it will, together with 17 other super high-rise buildings over 180 meters, build the most beautiful skyline in Puxi; the stage of North Bund AIA Grand Theatre is about to be unveiled, the structure of Ascott International Talent Apartment is capped, and the underground space in the core area is about to start construction. Within the area of 4 square kilometers, there are commerce, tourism, culture, sports, and residence facilities, car-free areas, and a complete three-dimensional transportation system; the Lester School and Henry Lester Institute of Technical Education, the century-old building, is revitalizing by nurturing the nuclear explosion points of master design, innovation and creativity, and technological innovation roadshows; North Bund Navigation Park has made a new appearance, with air corridors leading directly to the riverfront, and the green lungs of the city are within reach; Major municipal projects such as North-South Passage, Beiheng Passage, Daming Drainage, and New Linping Pump Station are accelerating progress. These great projects have fully opened up their firepower, and the iconic projects change greatly every day and every month, further enhancing the heat of high-quality development at the North Bund.

No matter how late it is today, it's still early, and no matter how early it is tomorrow, it's still late. The development and construction of the North Bund is facing a tight schedule, heavy tasks, and significant challenges. To ensure the efficient progress in major projects, the CPC district committee and the district government have studied and introduced Several Measures for the Reform of Major Project Construction Management this year, implemented the mechanism of team promotion, specialist responsibility, and full-process assistance, promoted the map-styled combat for major engineering projects, and innovated the implementation of pile foundation foremost and phased completion acceptance, in a bid to accelerate engineering construction. Besides, attention should be paid to the early planning of functions and early intervention of services, strengthening the collaborative linkage between development and construction as well as investment attraction and operation, and closely managing the entire chain of land planning, transfer, construction, investment attraction, and operation, and promote the early appearance, early function, and early benefits of major engineering projects.

The layout and carrying capacity of major projects highlight the development concept of the city. We must adhere to enlarging the pattern and expanding our horizons, jumping out of Hongkou to see the district. The North Bund not only belongs to Hongkou and Shanghai but also belongs to the Yangtze River Delta and the whole country. The North Bund not only aims to enhance its energy, but also represents Shanghai in participating in international cooperation and competition. We must focus on the long term and the future, climb to the highest international standards and the best level, build one century-class product after another with strong driving effects, and make every major engineering project an important cornerstone for the high-quality development of the North Bund.

Strong engine: Regional core functions need to be enhanced in the display

The development and construction of the North Bund not only need to showcase the form foundation of new landmarks, but also need to forge the core competitiveness that leads the future, to create an image in three years, shaping functions in five years, and completing construction on the whole in ten years. Focusing on the four priorities, the North Bund must prioritize strengthening resource allocation, enhancing its ability to gather and allocate resources both domestically and externally, and adhering to the leadership of high-end industries,

Efforts should be made to strengthen the high-end factor resources and core function carrying capacity, thereby improving total factor labor productivity and enhancing the strategic position of regional high-quality development.

Since the beginning of this year, Hongkou has promoted the integrated development of advanced manufacturing and modern service industries, accelerated the construction of a modern industrial system, and attracted a group of headquarters and chain-oriented enterprises such as Manulife Financial (Canada) and Bluepha (Beijing) to settle down, to accelerate the progress towards high-end links in the industrial chain and high-value segments of the service chain. I visited companies such as COSCO Shipping, Foresight Fund, Shanghai Jahwa, Tsingshan Industry, and Belle International, and found that they had a great demand for deep integration with the industrial chain, innovation chain, talent chain, and capital chain in accelerating the development of financial technology, modern shipping, and advanced manufacturing. Hongkou is also seeking core competitiveness to support high-quality development in the future, and both sides share a common value orientation.

To this end, we focus on four directions of internationalization, digitization, greening, and specialization, accelerate industrial transformation and upgrading, develop professional and productive service industries, cultivate emerging service trade, expand international cooperation in shipping service trade, and promote the accelerated gathering of high-end industry organizations and functional platforms such as the Shanghai Representative Office of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), the Shanghai International Shipping Arbitration Court, and the Shanghai Asset Management Association, expand international cruise routes, promote cruise tourism to become a distinctive brand for creating a national tourist resort on the North Bund, attract high-quality financial institutions both domestically and internationally to establish legal entities and functional headquarters in Hongkou, carry out QDLP projects, and continuously hold a series of important conferences such as the China Investment Annual Conference and the BioChina China Biopharmaceutical Innovation Summit Forum. Amidst the landing of a batch of high-energy projects and global conferences, the global visibility and international influence of the North Bund are reaching new heights.

New kinetic energy: Strengthening innovation and development to create an excellent ecology

The North Bund is striving to build a charming city and a future city, and it is even more necessary to stimulate a never-ending innovation drive and gather a continuous stream of innovative water. In my research, I have been thinking about how to build a vibrant and open innovation ecosystem, cultivate a new impetus for high-quality development, and build new competitive advantages. After in-depth discussion at the plenary session of the CPC district committee, the Implementation Opinions on Promoting Innovation to Lead High-Quality Development was issued, with technological innovation as the core to lead comprehensive innovation, strengthen all-round support for innovation, create a good innovation ecosystem, and optimize the software and hardware environment for high-quality development.

In the hard environment, we optimize the innovation layout and create an innovative pattern of dual-north linkage between the North Bund Technology Innovation Headquarters Cluster Area and the North Central Ring Technology Innovation Industry Cluster Belt. The North Bund, relying on the Shanghai Innovation and Creative Design Research Institute, aims to promote the expansion and strength of the North Bund Technology Innovation Roadshow Center, continuously leverage the advantages of wealth management highlands, stimulate the vitality of technology innovation with financial vitality, and promote the agglomeration and development of creative design, technology service industry, and professional productive service industry. On the North Central Ring Road, we will promote the integration and transformation of inefficient industrial parks and industrial factories within the district, accelerate the construction of the North Technology Innovation Biotechnology Industrial Park and the Lingang Digital Economy Innovation Park, innovate the composite development and utilization of land functions, create a vibrant "silicon alley" technology innovation space, and actively layout new tracks such as big data, big health, new materials, and new energy.

In terms of a soft environment, we strive to create a high-quality all-factor ecosystem. Efforts should be made to provide more support for innovation transformation, explore the establishment of a new model of "appropriation + equity investment", strengthen the "investment + loan" and "investment attraction + investment", achieve efficient and rapid coupling of the innovation chain, industrial chain, and value chain, and improve the level of technological innovation services. We provide more services for startups, build functional platforms such as the industrial development fund, the enterprise integration innovation center, and the industry sharing laboratory, and promote the coordinated and integrated development of small, medium-sized, and large innovation entities. We provide high-quality supporting facilities for innovative talents, leverage the pioneering effect of international talent stations, and enable international talents in Hongkou to have a variety of residential product choices and find supplies in international education, medical care, and public service nearby.

The blueprint has been drawn, and it is time to forge ahead. The future of the North Bund has come. We will adhere to the innovation-led high-quality development, enhance the resource allocation capacity of the urban area, improve the development level and core competitiveness of the urban area, accelerate the building of the North Bund of Shanghai and the Golden Triangle of the Huangpu River, and create an important showcase for the Chinese path to modernization.