To explore the new context and new space for Shanghai’s green development, our analysis must be grounded in the deepening of two key dimensions:

One is the deepening of Shanghai’s strategic positioning in urban development. Since 2018, with the goal of building a “socialist modern international metropolis with global influence” at its core, Shanghai has advanced its development along two strategic pillars: first, developing an international metropolis with “five centers”; second, building a people-centered socialist modern city.

The other is the deepening of the definition of green development connotation. Since 2018, the concept of green development has extended far beyond traditional environmental governance. Notably, after China proposed its “dual carbon” goals (peaking carbon emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060) in 2020, green development has been elevated to a systematic strategy integrating four dimensions: carbon reduction, pollution mitigation, green expansion, and growth promotion.

In summary, Shanghai’s 15th Five-Year Plan and its future development require strengthened efforts in three key “investments”: investment in “capabilities”(enhancing the core functions of the city as one of the “five centers”), investment in “people”(improving the quality of life in the people-centered city) and investment in “green development”(consolidating the green foundation of Shanghai’s urban development).

From the perspective of integrating these three aspects, Shanghai’s 15th Five-Year Plan needs to further explore how to leverage green development to upgrade the level of the “five centers” and advance the modernization of the people-centered city. To this end, three key considerations and suggestions are put forward as follows.

1. Green Development Should Focus on Converting Ecological Advantages into Development Advantages

From the perspective of the “Two Mountains” Theory, the previous focus was on pursuing both “gold and silver mountains” (economic development) and “lucid waters and lush mountains” (ecological protection). Now, we need to take it a step further and emphasize that ” lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets “.

Take the construction of Chongming World-Class Ecological Island in Shanghai as an example. The key to its future development lies in converting ecological advantages into development advantages and gaining global recognition in the fields of ecological economy and ecological society. In Shanghai’s 15th Five-Year Plan, it is recommended to use the theory and methodology of Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP) to accurately position the development of the ecological island.

For Chongming Island, the value of its ecological products is composed of three parts: material supply function accounts for approximately 9%, ecological regulation function for about 53%, and cultural service function for 38%. Therefore, building Chongming into an ecological island does not mean simply and absolutely turning it into an ecological conservation area. Instead, it requires developing a comprehensive ecological island that balances ecological protection, production activities, and daily life, while attaching great importance to preserving natural capital. To achieve this, Chongming needs to make world-class breakthroughs in the fields of ecological economy and ecological society. For instance, explore the possibility of developing Chongming’s unique products such as bitter grass tea, saffron, and seed industry agriculture into world-class ecological economic products, and drive innovations in biomedical technology. Study ways to promote Chongming’s Jiangnan cultural lifestyle with global influence, including cultural retreat programs, high-end health and wellness services, and international education camps.

2. Green Development Should Strive for “Technological Innovation Where There Is Ecology and Scenery”

Observing the development and evolution of international metropolises, it can be found that spaces for technological and cultural innovation often coexist with areas of high-quality ecological environment—sometimes even with a causal relationship. This aligns with the notion that “where there is beautiful scenery, there is technological innovation and a new economy”. The reason is that comfortable and pleasant urban spaces, along with high environmental quality, are key factors in attracting creative talents. These talents are willing to gather in such areas to carry out innovation and entrepreneurship.

In addition, focus should be placed on the new development of Shanghai’s “Two Rivers” (the Huangpu River and the Suzhou Creek). I believe that the construction of the “Two Rivers” has entered its 3.0 phase, and future efforts can be directed towards creating green innovation spaces in Shanghai’s metropolitan central activity zones. In the future development of the “Two Rivers”, the green and pleasant spaces along the banks can be used to attract high-end creative talents, as well as lightweight, knowledge-intensive institutions such as R&D centers, design studios, and venture capital funds. This will help foster an innovation hub in the core area of Shanghai.

Currently, Shanghai’s major technological innovation spaces are mainly located in peripheral areas: Zhangjiang, Xicen, Dalinhai Bay, and Dawusong. The 3.0 upgrade of the “Two Rivers” should focus on transforming Shanghai’s innovation space layout—shifting from the previous “peripheral concentration, far from the center” model to an “axis-guided, internal-external linkage” model.

3. Green Development Should Commit to Building New Infrastructure Integrating Green Power and Intelligence

The core competitiveness of the Fourth Industrial Revolution lies in the integrated development of intelligence and low-carbonization. China’s strategic approach—using renewable energy as the foundation for developing green artificial intelligence (AI) and green computing power—differs from that of the U.S. Trump administration, which relies on fossil energy to support AI development. In the short term, the focus of AI competition is on chips. In the long run, however, the ultimate determinant of AI competition will be power supply.

At present, both domestically and internationally, the expansion of computing power has far outpaced the supply capacity of green power. This poses a major challenge for scientific and technological innovation at both the national and urban levels. As Shanghai builds itself into an international science and technology innovation center and makes strategic efforts in the AI field, it should take the integrated development of AI and low-carbon energy as a key strategic direction. The city should strive to build a green intelligent technology system, infrastructure, and industrial ecosystem with green data centers as the cornerstone.

Furthermore, Shanghai should seize the opportunity to expand its urban development space from land to marine areas. It should innovatively advance the construction of direct green power connections and independent energy storage systems for data centers, thereby securing a leading position in green intelligent technological innovation.

（Source: Jiefang Daily, September 24, 2025）