Shanghairuns on a handful of strong industries. If you’re job-hunting or weighing a move, here’s where the opportunities (and the big-name employers) are.
Top industries & employers
Finance & capital markets
Shanghai Stock Exchange, ICBC, Bank of China, HSBC China, Ant Group
Lujiazui in Pudong is mainland China's financial centre, and the Shanghai Stock Exchange is among the largest in the world by market capitalisation. Most foreign banks base their China head office here rather than in Beijing.
Automotive & EV
SAIC Motor, Tesla Gigafactory Shanghai, NIO, Volkswagen and GM joint ventures
SAIC is China's largest carmaker and Tesla's Shanghai plant is its highest-volume factory anywhere. The city's Anting district is a genuine automotive cluster with the design and supplier base to match.
Semiconductors & hardware
SMIC, Hua Hong, Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park tenants
Zhangjiang in Pudong holds the densest concentration of Chinese chip design and fabrication in the country, alongside a large integrated-circuit research base.
Pharmaceuticals & biotech
WuXi AppTec, Roche China, Novartis, Zai Lab, Hengrui
Zhangjiang's biotech corridor is where most multinational pharma runs its China R&D, and WuXi AppTec made Shanghai a global centre of contract drug research.
Shipping, ports & trade
COSCO, Shanghai International Port Group, Maersk China
The Port of Shanghai has been the world's busiest container port for well over a decade. The China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, established in 2013, was the first of its kind on the mainland.
Consumer, retail & advertising
L'Oréal China, Unilever, Nike Greater China, Alibaba's Tmall operations
Shanghai is where almost every global consumer brand runs its China marketing, which makes it the country's clearest concentration of foreign commercial and creative jobs.
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