Shanghai Vice Mayor Tu Guangshao runs finance. His task is to make Shanghai a world leader. He says that for Shanghai to become an international center of finance, trade, shipping and general economics requires coordination, each element reinforcing the others. He states that the global financial crisis gives Shanghai a chance to "step up" because the world's financial system needs to be restructured. He stresses, however, that Shanghai will have to "listen to the market." Innovative developments in the market, he says, are key for Shanghai's future as a financial center.
Shanghai Party Secretary Yu Zhengsheng tells me: "A modern service sector requires a rational legal environment, tax revenue environment, and supervision environment. This is not a problem that can be solved simply by attracting foreign investment. It requires systematic innovation. It is not an easy job... Expo should help people to reach a consensus on China's future development, on our way of thinking, and on how Shanghai should develop."
A wise Chinese friend, with an American PhD in science, tells me that while Shanghai has a fascinating history, its future holds far more significance than its past. He encourages me to focus on Shanghai' s science: "It's becoming world class," he says with pride.
A culture rooted in science is a prime goal of China's leaders. A new national policy supports world-class talent. Top Chinese scientists, educated and working abroad, are now returning to China -- a China which now has the resources to back them with first-class equipment and talented students.
China is targeting a dozen or more critical areas of science, where it intends to be among the world leaders. To investigate, I select stem cell research, the basic science underlying regenerative medicine, a foundation of 21st century healthcare.
At Shanghai's Institute for Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Executive Director Jing Naihe tells me that "our top stem cell labs are now 80-85 percent of the world's best." Five years ago, he says, "we were at 50-60 percent" and in "10 to 20 years we should be top level."
