Shanghai authorities certify new batch of headquarters and R&D centers of foreign firms

Shanghai remains a first-rate destination for foreign investment and a preferred hub for multinational companies’ global industrial and supply chains, senior executives of foreign firms said on March 18, as the municipal government certified a new batch of MNC headquarters and research and development centers in the city.

“We upgraded our China headquarters into the Asia-Pacific headquarters last year, which will serve as a bridge connecting global technology and the Asia-Pacific market,” said Yang Hongyong, vice president of Phinia, a United States-based company that provides products and services for vehicles and industrial applications.

“(China’s) 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) clearly proposes accelerating the development of strategic emerging industries such as new energy, hydrogen energy, green fuels, and aerospace, while promoting the green and low-carbon transformation of transport energy. Phinia’s strategic development highly aligns with this direction,” said Yang.

A total of 30 regional headquarters of multinational corporations and 15 foreign-funded research and development centers were certified by the Shanghai municipal government on March 18.

“We are very happy to receive our regional headquarters for our China business. It’s a clear expression of China being a continuous priority market,” said Gijs Sanders, head of strategy, marketing and digital transformation with Haleon China.

According to Sanders, China is currently the British consumer healthcare company’s second-largest market globally.

“With strong support from Shanghai municipal authorities, AbbVie successfully upgraded its Shanghai entity from an operational headquarters to a China regional headquarters at the end of 2025,” said Dong Lijun, vice-president and general manager of China Therapeutics at AbbVie, a US-based biopharmaceutical company.

“The regional headquarters will undertake expanded functions including strategic planning, investment decision-making, financial management, R&D coordination and regional operational support,” Dong added.

The executive said that “this shift enables more key decisions to be made in Shanghai, enhancing responsiveness to the Chinese market and deepening insights into local needs”.

The newly certified companies feature a high level of industrial concentration, mostly coming from biomedicine, integrated circuits, high-end equipment, automobiles, as well as fashion and consumer goods. Among them, there are four regional headquarters of the Asia-Pacific region, and one global R&D center, the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce said.

More than 6,300 new foreign-funded enterprises built presence in Shanghai last year, up 6.8 percent year-on-year, and the actual use of foreign capital exceeded $16 billion, making the city one of the most attractive cities and a highly preferred place for multinational companies to deploy global supply chain and industrial operations.

Contact the writers at wang_ying@chinadaily.com.cn