Just one week ago, a 48-hour hackathon unfolded in Zhangjiang, where young AI creators showcased 59 innovative products, demonstrating that the imagination driving technological innovation is shifting from major corporate labs to everyone's fingertips. Simultaneously, AstraZeneca established its global cell therapy center in the area, and Zhangjiang secured the nation's third stem cell drug production license, highlighting the powerful "magnetic effect" of the 450 billion yuan biopharmaceutical industry. The globally pioneering Oriental Hub International Business Cooperation Zone has enabled genuine two-way integration of "going global" and "attracting investment."
Integrated circuits, biopharma, and artificial intelligence—the three leading industries explicitly emphasized in Shanghai's 14th Five-Year Plan—have found their main base in Pudong. By 2026, the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the Pudong New Area has elevated the "in-depth implementation of a high-tech cluster strategy" to a key priority, focusing on developing ten high-tech industrial clusters. As it turns 36, Pudong is quietly transitioning from a "policy highland" to an "ecosystem highland," and from an "industrial new area" to an "innovation hub."
On April 10, the hackathon finals concluded at the Zhangjiang AI Innovation Town. Participants engaged in 48 hours of coding, iteration, and debugging, developing products such as embodied AI mahjong robots, brain-controlled wheelchairs, AI hairstyle designers, and pocket guitars. Two hundred "mental athletes" worked in a confined space, pushing the limits of innovation within a set timeframe. Over 60% of the finalists were born after 2000, with the youngest being just 12 years old.
A team named "Page One," composed of four middle schoolers—Jiang Muran, Lü Sitong, Yang Xizhe, and Chen Yuxia—developed a popular note-diagnosis Agent system in under 24 hours, earning a special "AI Native" award. Their average age was only 13.5; some teach others how to use AI for learning on social platforms, while others have developed and applied AI-based foreign language tutor products. "This generation are true AI natives—they didn't just start using AI tools; they grew up in an AI context and use AI to define their creative methods," the event organizer remarked during the awards ceremony, noting that the hackathon aimed to make this generation's real creations visible.
This event reflects the broader landscape of Shanghai's innovation platform. The vision for technological innovation lies not only in large enterprises and major projects but also in young people coding in libraries and cafés. "It's hard to define what I think innovation is, but every line of code I write and every real-world problem I solve using technology represents science creation accessible to everyone," said 12-year-old participant You Xiaopeng in an interview.
In March 2026, Zhangjiang Science City added another significant global biopharma layout—AstraZeneca announced the establishment of a cell therapy innovation center there. This full-chain innovation platform, covering early research, viral vector development, clinical production, and regulatory support, will serve as a key hub in AstraZeneca's global cell therapy network, underscoring China's rising innovative status in next-generation cell therapies worldwide.
In April, the nation's third stem cell Drug Manufacturing License was granted to a company in Zhangjiang Medicine Valley, with Aisai'er Biology becoming the certified enterprise. Biopharma is one of Shanghai's three leading industries and a focal point in the new wave of technological revolution and competition. As a core national strategic zone, Pudong is tasked with building a world-class biopharma cluster, continuously enhancing its innovation capabilities. Pioneering products—global firsts (First-in-class), China firsts (First-in-China), and first-in-human applications (First-in-Human)—are consistently emerging.
The Pudong Science and Technology Commission revealed that while early foreign investments in Pudong were concentrated in single segments, they now form a multidimensional layout of "production bases + R&D centers + innovation platforms," deeply embedded in every key node of Pudong's biopharma industry chain. The district hosts nearly 800 foreign-invested biopharma companies. Among the global top 50 pharmaceutical firms, 16 have a presence in Pudong, including 12 that established China headquarters and 7 with R&D centers. Of the global top 20, 16 are based in Pudong, with 9 setting up China headquarters and 7 establishing R&D centers.
In 2025, Pudong's biopharma industry scale reached 450 billion yuan. Since 2026, Pudong has seen one Class 1 innovative drug and seven innovative medical devices approved for market, including Borui Kang's invasive brain-computer interface system, which became the world's first invasive BCI medical device to enter clinical application. In advanced therapies, Pudong produced the nation's first gene therapy product and has four CAR-T products on the market, accounting for 50% of the national total.
Xu Lai, member of the Pudong New Area Standing Committee and Deputy District Chief, stated that Pudong consistently drives technological and institutional innovation, emphasizes both R&D and manufacturing, and balances attracting investment with retaining talent. This open and collaborative approach has created a unique "magnetic effect" in Pudong's biopharma sector.
In 2026, with the implementation of "Decree No. 818" (Regulations on Clinical Research and Clinical Translation of New Biomedical Technologies) and "Decree No. 828" (the revised Implementation Regulations of the PRC Drug Administration Law), Pudong will fully advance reforms, secure industrial space, build competitive advantages, and promote global expansion and talent services. Leveraging the Zhangjiang Medicine Valley Integrated Service Center, it will offer end-to-end support in policy, clinical research, regulatory review, financing, market application, and internationalization, fostering both investment attraction and homegrown growth to accelerate new future industry growth points and help Chinese companies compete globally, further enhancing the "Zhangjiang Medicine Valley" brand.
On January 27, 2026, foreign guests attended a transnational business event at the Shanghai Oriental Hub International Business Cooperation Zone. In January 2026, the 2026 QuickOsendo Asia-Pacific Annual Conference was held there, marking the first large-scale transnational business event since the pilot zone passed enclosed acceptance on November 28, 2025.
"I've visited many countries worldwide, and in terms of convenience, entering this zone was a stunning experience," said Bryan Hanson, Senior Vice President of Global Business at QuickOsendo, in an interview. He noted that the International Business Cooperation Zone offers world-class facilities and a streamlined entry process, connected directly to the international airport. "From disembarking to checking into a hotel in the zone, it took just over 20 minutes—extremely efficient."
The Oriental Hub International Business Cooperation Zone is a global pioneer and China's only "zero-time-difference" business district. Within this 0.88-square-kilometer special area, the policy of "relaxed first-line controls, strict second-line management" has been extended from goods to natural persons. Here, personnel movement enjoys "two-way convenience": invited overseas entrants can enter without a Chinese visa for up to 30 days, extendable, while domestic personnel access the zone with passes. When "business zone + exhibition" synergize, international meetings flourish.
In March, the largest China Appliance and Electronics Expo (AWE 2026) and the first Overseas Investment and Integrated Services Exhibition were held at the zone. The "Pudong New Area Enterprise Global Expansion White Paper" was also released there. To date, over 3,000 enterprises in Pudong have established overseas branches, with outward investment exceeding 100 billion USD. Pudong's 15th Five-Year Plan positions supporting enterprises' global expansion as a regional development strategy, aligning with new market trends.
In 2025, Pudong accounted for 68% of Shanghai's outbound investment filings. The nation's first comprehensive service center dedicated to assisting enterprises' global expansion, established in Pudong, has provided full-spectrum resource allocation services to over 2,000 companies. A significant proportion of these are linked to the ten high-tech industries, possessing technology for global expansion but lacking experience in overseas market entry and localization.
The plan for Pudong's ten high-tech industrial clusters in the 15th Five-Year Plan period aims to scale integrated circuits, biopharma, intelligent connected vehicles, and software and information services clusters to 500 billion yuan each; push AI and smart terminal clusters toward 200 billion yuan; and achieve 100 billion yuan scales for civil aviation, shipbuilding and marine engineering, embodied intelligence, and new energy clusters.
Wang Yue, General Manager of the Pudong New Area Enterprise Global Expansion Comprehensive Service Center, noted, "Previously, manufacturing dominated, but now high-tech industries account for a growing share. Last year, tech-based companies made up 38% of Pudong's outbound enterprises, far surpassing traditional manufacturing." Destinations have also diversified, expanding from Europe and America to Southeast Asia, North Africa, and South America.
"Our goal is to make Pudong a bridgehead and port for enterprises going global—wherever they go, our services follow," said Dong Xiaoling, Deputy Director of the Pudong Commerce Commission.
Shou Xiaoqi, Director of the Pudong New Area Enterprise Global Expansion Comprehensive Service Center, shared, "I've worked in Pudong's investment promotion since 1994, witnessing over three decades of development. We've evolved from simple investment attraction to two-way integration of going global and bringing in, forming an ecosystem. Whether for foreign investment entering or Chinese enterprises expanding abroad, Pudong is their fertile ground."