China is pushing forward with high-standard opening-up, and Shanghai, one of the world's top megacities, is at the forefront, boosting the country's growing influence in global trade.

At Shanghai's Haitong International Automotive Terminal in the Waigaoqiao Port Area, domestic vessels arrive daily from the Yangtze River, packed with China-made cars.

There, at the nation's largest roll-on/roll-off terminal for complete vehicles, the cargo is shifted onto oceangoing ships bound for export.
"At our terminals, we handle at least 10,000 vehicles per day. The export volume of China-made vehicles has been steadily growing. A decade ago, the business was almost entirely dominated by imported cars, and the crews were all foreign. Now, it’s all exports," said Wei Jiajian, dispatch manager in the Terminal Operations Department at Shanghai Haitong International Automotive Terminal.

In 2024, Haitong handled more than 3.6 million vehicles across its 'two ports, three terminals' network, topping the global rankings for the first time.

Between January and August 2025, Shanghai Waigaoqiao Port Customs recorded more than 960,000 vehicles exported through Haitong's Waigaoqiao terminal, a year-on-year increase of over 19 percent.

At the same time, the shipyard is also riding this wave of rapid growth.

"Based on the current order book, the total value will exceed 10 billion U.S. dollars. Annual deliveries are usually just over 20 vessels, but this year may surpass that, reaching 27 or 28. In fact, China's automobile exports have been setting new records in recent years," said Wei Yan, assistant marketing manager at the Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Company.

The strong momentum in manufacturing is being matched by steady advances in the financial markets, together shaping a new model of mutual empowerment. The Shanghai Futures Exchange now lists 43 futures and options contracts, providing real-sector enterprises with powerful tools to hedge against risk.

"When domestic and foreign enterprises engage in cross-border trade of products such as crude oil, bonded copper, and TSR20, they reference our futures prices in their contracts. In effect, they are using these benchmarks to conduct real commodity transactions with real money. 

I think this also reflects our influence on pricing," said Zhou Yu, senior manager in the International Cooperation Department at the Shanghai Futures Exchange.

The growing global influence of the "Shanghai Price" is transforming China's manufacturing strength into increased pricing power -- demonstrating how a dynamic China is actively shaping the future of world trade.