This ambitious assertion is based on the city government's latest development blueprint on its financial sector.

``To achieve the breakthroughs (in the financial sector), we should accelerate our steps and make concerted efforts,'' said Vice-Mayor Jiang Yiren.

His remarks were made earlier this week as plans for the development of the city's finance industry were unveiled.

The financial sector ought to play a ``key role'' in the city's growth as it moves towards building itself into a world-class economic centre, said Jiang.

Shanghai's financial sector aims to account for 20 per cent of the city's gross domestic product by 2005, according to an earlier report by the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank.

Official statistics showed, however, Shanghai's financial sector accounted for around 10 per cent of the city's GDP last year, a slight drop from 12.5 per cent in 2001. But this is set against the dramatic increase in other areas, in particular the real estate business in Shanghai.

Ji Xiaohui, director of the Shanghai Financial Works Commission, promised, at the briefing, that the city government will seek to open its financial sector wider to overseas business, in line with the country's commitment to the World Trade Organization.

And service innovations by domestic and overseas financial institutions will also be further encouraged, said Ji.

But the opening of the country's financial sector is still a ``gradual process'' and central government will set the timetable, he added .

A recent report by the Development Research Centre under the State Council also suggested that Shanghai needed to accelerate the development of its service sector and focus on encouraging financial institutions and multinationals to locate their regional headquarters in the city in the coming years.

Shanghai will ``have the capability'' to build itself into an international ``financial, trade, logistics, shipping, exhibition and cultural centre'' within 10 to 20 years, putting it on a par with the best in the world, said the report.

Responding to recent remarks by the city's authorities on the financial picture, Chen Wei, an economist with the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences,was upbeat about the proposals, but said they needed to ``prioritize'' the strengthening the financial sector.

Chen said the city government's former stated ambition of building various centres simultaneously had been ``too big and had been taken in haste.''

``Now they are heading in the right direction,'' said Chen, adding that the central and local governments need to combine their efforts to further open and upgrade the city's financial sector.

(China Daily January 18, 2003)