Zhang Jun/Shanghai Daily news

Shanghai is targeting an annual economic growth rate of at least 9 percent over the next five years as it hones its competitive edge as an international metropolis, Mayor Han Zheng said yesterday as he delivered a draft of the city's 11th Five-Year Plan to more than 800 members of the Shanghai People's Congress.
Han also estimated that the city's gross domestic product will increase by more than 10 percent this year and the energy used to generate each 10,000 yuan (US$1,234) in GDP should be reduced by around 4.4 percent compared with last year's level.
"For the next five years, we will focus on improving the city's international competitiveness," Han told Congress members at the Shanghai Exhibition Center yesterday.
The shanghai People's Congress, the city's top legislative body, holds a plenary session each year to discuss and vote on the city's key economic and social development plans.
A final vote is expected on Friday.
The mayor said Shanghai plans to complete the framework that will enable it to become one of the world's leading economic, financial, trade and shipping centers by the end of 2010.
He said the city government will put the service sector at the top of its development agenda and boost financial markets including reinsurance, offshore services, corporate bonds and derivatives.
Among its plans to foster a modern logistics industry, the government intends to increase international transshipments by upgrading its infrastructure.
The five-year blueprint calls for rapid improvement at key logistic bases, including Lingang New City, Pudong International Airport and the Northwest Integrated Logistics Park.
Under the plan, by the end of 2010 the city's financial assets will account for 10 percent of the national total, up 1 percentage point from 2004. And international transshipment volume will represent 10 percent of the city's container business - more than twice the current figure.
In the energy resource and environmental protection sector, the city's total energy consumption per unit of GDP will be reduced 20 percent from last year's level.
Investment in environmental protection will exceed 3 percent of GDP - about the same as last year.
The government also plans to solidify 12 major modern service industry hubs around over the next five years.
Among them: the shipping service area in the north Bund, the science and technology-based business zone in the Wujiaochang area, the ecology-based business zone near Changfeng Park and the foreign-related business zone in Hongqiao.
The day before the opening of the legislative meeting, the Shanghai Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference began its annual session.
The local committee of the CPPCC is the city's top advisory body, whose members include members of democratic parties, scientists, doctors, artists and business representatives.
The cppcc is authorized to review and analyze government actions and offer suggestions to the city's leadership.