SHANGHAI Mayor Yang Xiong met Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi of the United Arab Emirates, yesterday. He said Shanghai maintained frequent exchanges with Abu Dhabi and other emirates in recent years and laid a solid foundation for closer cooperation.

The mayor said Shanghai is drafting its 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) to accelerate its transformation into an international center of economy, finance, trade and shipping as well as a global innovation center.

Yang remarked that Shanghai has carried out administrative reform in the free trade zone to facilitate investments and trade and open up the financial sector. This created new opportunities for cooperation between Shanghai and other countries.