Shanghai plan to encourage firms to establish national and global brands, especially in fashion and mobile Internet industries as it will not have to depend on land and labour resources. The brand economy will attract talent, capital and information resources globally.

Huai Jinpeng, vice minister of industry and information technology at the China Brand Economy (Shanghai) Forum during the China (Shanghai) International Technology Fair said that it’s a necessary step for China and Shanghai to establish brands to upgrade industrial development and encourage innovation for economic development.

At the end of 2014, Shanghai had 170 well-known national brands and 1,275 city-level popular brands, according to the Shanghai Commission of Economy and Information Technology.

At the forum, the Shanghai city government and the China National Textile and Apparel Council entered into an agreement on developing the fashion industry and establish fashion brands. The two sides plan to establish a nation-wide fashion industry company and a fashion trend research center, which will help local firms identify brand awareness and make the city a global fashion center.

According to Zhou Bo, the city's vice mayor, Shanghai has been a fashion capital since the 1930s.