Shanghai recorded 60 new regional headquarters of multinationals in 2021, bringing the total number of such regional headquarters to 831, said Gong Zheng, the mayor of Shanghai, at a press conference Sunday.

The number of foreign-invested research centers in Shanghai reached 506, with a rise of 25 in 2021. "The city remains a hot destination for foreign investment to expand their industrial chains and beef up innovation," said Gong.

Statistics showed the actual use of foreign capital in Shanghai reached 22.55 billion US dollars last year, up 11.5 percent year on year, a record high despite COVID-19.