On the afternoon of 31^st, August, YANG Xiong, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee and Mayor of Shanghai, delivered a featured speech to the 2016 Autumn Classes of Shanghai Party Institute of CPC and exchanged views with the participants. According to YANG Xiong, there are extremely arduous reforming and development tasks lying ahead in the second half of the year as well as in the 13th Five-Year Plan period. We should effectively fulfill the requirements of the Party Centre and the arrangement of the plenum of the Municipal Party Committee, tightly grasp the key task, major projects, and key links, continue to steadfastly deepen the reform and expand opening up, make all-out efforts to promote the sound and sustainable development of Shanghais economy and society, and lay a solid foundation for a good start of the 13th Five-Year Plan and the long-term development of Shanghai.

    YANG Xiong pointed out that in recent years, Shanghai followed the general arrangements of the Party Centre, actively adapted itself to the New Normal, and took the initiative to promote the innovation-driven development and economic transformation and upgrading, with the economic structure constantly optimized and the transformation of development power accelerated. Meanwhile, we should also soberly note that Shanghais innovation-driven development was not so firmly solid and still in the process of exploration and advancement. We must strengthen the sense of historical mission and accountability, resolutely discard the traditional thinking and old patterns that are not suitable for the new situation, take more proactive measures to update our thinking and concepts, innovate working methods, immerse ourselves in practical work, and strive to solve crucial difficulties.

    "It has been almost three years since China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone started its development. We must achieve a satisfactory result."  According to YANG Xiong, the development of Pilot FTZ is a major national strategy. In accordance with the requirements of the Party Centre, we have prioritized four system innovations including investment management, trade regulation, financial liberalization, during and ex post facto supervision, launched a series of reforms and achieved remarkable results. At present, we are, on the one hand, making every effort to summarize and evaluate the three years experience in building the pilot FTZ, and on the other hand we are attentively listening to the comments from all sides and actively planning further reforms of the pilot FTZ. The development of scientific and innovation center is the new positioning and new requirements by the Party Centre to Shanghai. It is both a national strategy and a good opportunity to make great breakthroughs in pioneering innovation and development. In the first half of this year, the state approved the construction program of Zhangjiang Integrated National Science Center and the trial program of Systematically Promoting Comprehensive Innovation and Reform in Shanghai.  We set up the Steering Committee to advance the construction of the scientific and innovation center, and drafted Key Work Arrangements 2016. The construction of the scientific and innovation center has been deepened and implemented in all fronts. Next, we will concentrate our efforts on constructing Zhangjiang Integrated National Science Center, reinforce the scientific investments, pool global innovation resources, facilitate the in-depth combination of research, education, and production, and strive to make breakthroughs in major scientific achievements with originality. We will create innovative platforms, build scientific innovation clusters, courage the masses to start up and make innovations, and expedite the development of scientific and technological innovation systems. Also, we will make significant reforms on the system and mechanism of scientific innovation and talents attraction, creating better environment and conditions for building a scientific and innovation center with global influence.

    "Promoting the supply-front structural reform is the focus of economic growth and economic work at present and in the coming period of time.” According to YANG Xiong, it is the major decision made by the Party Centre after studying the world economic climate and our economic New Normal, which has to be implemented to the letter. We should persist in deepening the industrial mix adjustments, solving the structural problems, and accelerating the formation of new effective supply. We should actively optimize the policy systems, stimulate enterprises vigor and creativity, and improve supply capacity and quality. We should do the "capacity, inventory, leverage, and cost reduction, as well as weak point bolstering", make great efforts to help enterprises lower costs and burdens, particularly concentrate our efforts on reducing institutional transaction costs through deepening the reform of the administrative approval system and promoting the reform of the separation of business license and business certificate, with a view to providing a law-based, internationalized, and convenient business environment for the growth of enterprises.

    YANG Xiong also exchanged his viewpoints with the participants on the subjects of ensuring and improving peoples livelihood and the development of ecological civilization.