Total investment in Shanghai, China's financial and economic center, is expected to top US$130 billion in the next five years, said Vice-Mayor Han Zheng on Monday.
The economic growth of the municipality will stand at nine to 10 percent annually in the next five years, Han said at a meeting with a delegation from the Japan-based Mitsubishi Group.
This year's economic growth is expected to reach 10.3 percent and total investment is to top US$26 billion with government revenue to rise by 25 percent, he said.
The municipal government welcomed more and more foreign investors to the city, Han added.
The development in Shanghai was impressive and Mitsubishi companies had seen the great potential of cooperation with the municipality, said Minoru Makihara, chairman of Mitsubishi Corporation.
The visitors included the chairmen of 16 firms under the Mitsubishi Group, believed to be the largest group to visit China in the company's history.
The Mitsubishi Corporation set up its China headquarters in Shanghai in September this year and it is being considered as the regional headquarters for the Asia-Pacific region.
This year is the 30th anniversary of the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations.
(Xinhua News Agency December 3, 2002)
