In many regions, the "first meeting of the new year" has been held earlier than in previous years. In the past, such meetings were typically held only after the Spring Festival.

On the first working day of the year, provinces including Shanghai, Henan, Liaoning, Hubei, and Fujian took the lead, unveiling their "opening acts" for the new year.

The meetings primarily focused on several key themes: optimizing the business environment, achieving self-reliance and strength in science and technology, and pursuing high-quality development.

Shanghai, in particular, held its ninth conference on the business environment.

In terms of business environment development, virtually every conceivable measure and necessary action has been addressed.

It could be said that they have pushed themselves to the limit.

Can a task that has been carried out for nine consecutive years still yield fresh insights?

The latest document provides the answer.

01 Nine Years in a Row: What’s Different This Year?

The relationship between the business environment and economic vitality is like raising fish in a pond.

The “water” can refer to tangible actions or an intangible atmosphere. Only when the water is clear and warm enough will the fish be willing to come and thrive.

In recent years, Shanghai’s business environment has gradually shifted from focusing on “how fast things get done” to “how good the service is” and “how excellent the experience is.”

The measures outlined have also been streamlined. Last year’s document proposed 58 measures.

This latest “Shanghai Action Plan for Accelerating the Creation of a World-Class Business Environment (2026),” hereinafter referred to as Action Plan 9.0, has been streamlined to 26 measures.

If the past eight years were about broadening the “coverage” of basic services, then Version 9.0 focuses on going “deeper, more specialized, and broader.”

“Deeper” means reinforcing the baseline of fairness, with the first-ever mention of “anti-involution.”

Of the 26 measures, 8 are specifically aimed at the market competition environment.

Taking a hard look inward, the plan mandates “zero arrears” in payments by government agencies and public institutions to help businesses alleviate financial pressure.

Measures have been introduced to crack down on profit-driven professional whistleblowing. Business entities no longer need to exhaust themselves dealing with malicious complaints.

Regarding business inspections, the “inspection code” system continues to be implemented, with the addition of “credit-based + risk-based” tiered supervision. Enterprises with good credit records face fewer disruptions, allowing them to focus their energy on operations.

Data shows that as of the end of November 2025, a cumulative total of 649,000 “inspection codes” had been issued, with the number of inspections decreasing by more than 40% year-on-year.

It is also notable that the buzzword “anti-overwork” has been included in official documents for the first time.

By regulating platform algorithms, preventing malicious low-bid winning, and publicly disclosing quality inspection results, we aim to reduce disorderly competition and guide enterprises to compete on strength rather than through “price wars.”

More specialized, precisely tailored to the industry, with services that are both knowledgeable and relevant.

"Industrial Ecosystem" has been established as a separate section for the first time, with every line reflecting a deep understanding of business needs.

The document mentions creating an ecosystem that is better suited to local industries and more conducive to innovation and entrepreneurship; focusing on industrial chains and regulatory approval processes; and formulating distinctive measures to optimize the business environment for key industries.

Detailed industrial layouts will be developed in key areas across sectors such as advertising, human resources, consulting and research, and legal services.

Production factors will keep pace with the times: spatial infrastructure, financing services, and human resources will be supplied on demand, ensuring that every industry can find the right environment to thrive.

As industries undergo iteration and upgrading and emerging sectors emerge, “understanding the industry” is gradually becoming an essential quality for officials, enabling them to precisely address corporate needs.

“Broader” refers to a renewed focus on “business environment at the grassroots level,” expanding the scope of service recipients.

Among Shanghai’s millions of business entities, the vast majority—some 80 to 90 percent—are rooted at the grassroots level.

These business entities, spread across industrial parks, office buildings, and every street and alley, have become the “key focus” of business environment development.

As early as last year’s action plan, Shanghai introduced the concept of “grassroots business environment.”

Version 9.0 of the plan takes this a step further, extending support to all types of small, medium, and micro enterprises, and even to individual street vendors.

02 Service Support: “Treating All Equally”

SMEs are like the capillaries of the economy—the lifeblood of industrial development.

In the past, leading enterprises were generally the “prized targets.” Such companies are robust and well-established.

Premium resources such as land and capital were invariably directed toward them.

Meanwhile, enterprises with potential but slower growth often “fell through the cracks.”

This misallocation of resources—prioritizing large enterprises over small ones—not only triggers a “siphon effect” but also squeezes the survival space of SMEs.

Action Plan 9.0 has corrected this imbalance in resource allocation.

Whether for large enterprises or small, medium, and micro enterprises, we strive to treat them equally in terms of service and support.

With such a vast number of small, medium, and micro enterprises, who should be responsible for addressing their needs? Grassroots townships and sub-districts are closest to these enterprises and best understand the realities of investment promotion on the front lines.

However, their resources are limited, and they often face the dilemma of having limited authority but heavy responsibilities.

On one hand, situated at the bottom of the administrative hierarchy, they mostly execute orders from above, with little say and limited fiscal autonomy; on the other hand, they shoulder the burden of regulatory and service responsibilities delegated down through the ranks, while also dealing with a wide variety of requests.

The approach of Action Plan 9.0 is clear: it seeks solutions on two levels.

First, it removes obstacles to grassroots services.

It continues to implement the “neighborhoods and towns sound the alarm, departments respond” mechanism, enabling rapid access to functional departments without the need for bureaucratic red tape; through reverse evaluations, it compels departments to respond to grassroots needs.

It is evident that the granularity of services has increased, focusing on numerous details of business operations.

Take road infrastructure as an example: in Hangtou Town, Pudong New Area, local businesses faced difficulties with logistics trucks having to detour due to barriers at their entrances. By leveraging the “subdistrict/town calls, departments respond” mechanism, the town government collaborated with traffic police to optimize infrastructure and install traffic lights, thereby improving logistics efficiency.

At the same time, enterprises are equipped with “smart service assistants.”

Here, “shop assistants” do not refer to actual people, but rather digital tools such as “Sui Shen Dui” and “Sui Shen Rong.”

For inclusive policies, businesses no longer need to inquire with each department individually; they can simply log in to “Sui Shen Dui” to find them, essentially achieving “automatic eligibility without application.” “Sui Shen Rong” precisely matches resources to solve financing difficulties for small and medium-sized enterprises, narrowing the “gap” between policies and businesses.

On the other hand, we ensure that business needs are quickly identified.

We support sub-district and township authorities in accessing relevant data to help grassroots departments identify business needs.

Beyond sub-districts and towns, business associations, universities, think tanks, and even the media can serve as “bridges” for communication between the government and enterprises.

When businesses encounter bottlenecks, they can also use this channel to reach the government directly.

Investment promotion services are no longer limited to a one-way "government-to-business" approach.

In summary, this means directing more resources toward grassroots units and small, medium, and micro enterprises.

When it comes to investment promotion, only when every SME is visible and supported, and every grassroots unit provides solid assistance, can projects successfully enter and remain in the region.

After all, in the forest of regional industries, a few large trees alone cannot sustain a thriving ecosystem; it is the unassuming “grass” that forms the foundation for stability.

From fair competition to industrial alignment, from services focused on large enterprises to those extended to SMEs and micro-enterprises, and further to frontline grassroots support and industrial ecosystem development, Shanghai’s business environment improvement plan is becoming increasingly detailed and precise.

Only through targeted, precision-like support can enterprises thrive and grow robustly.