Shanghai's per capita GDP, a broad measure of living standards, reached 135,000 yuan ($20,136) in 2018, exceeding the threshold ($20,000) of a developed economy for the first time, according to figures released by the Shanghai Municipal Statistics Bureau over the weekend.

Experts said the figure shows that Shanghai's social development is close to that of developed areas, and the city, with the central government's policy support as well as resilience in its economy, is expected to rise as a global financial center.

"Amid China's efforts to shift from quantity-led to quality-driven growth in the past several years, the city still recorded steady gains in both economic growth and overall social well-being," Liu Xuezhi, a senior expert in macroeconomics at the Bank of Communications, told the Global Times on Sunday.

The city's GDP stood at 3.27 trillion yuan ($480 billion) in 2018, surpassing Thailand's 2017 GDP of $455 billion. Thailand is the eighth-largest economy in Asia.

Overall, its GDP grew 6.6 percent in 2018, compared with 6.9 percent in 2017, while keeping pace with China's 6.6-percent GDP growth.

Liu noted that besides per capita GDP, other factors such as the city's economic structure, efficiency and technological innovation are also important indicators of development. The increasing share of the tertiary industry in Shanghai's economy also shows a high-quality growth trend.

The tertiary sector was the largest contributor to the city's GDP last year, accounting for 69.9 percent of the total. Value added in the primary industry sector dropped 6.9 percent, while growth in secondary industry was 1.8 percent and the growth in tertiary industry was 8.7 percent, according to the municipal statistics bureau.

Financial center

The city also aims to become a global financial center by promoting reform and innovation in the financial sector, attracting top talent, and optimizing the legal environment in line with international rules, according to experts.

"Basic infrastructure facilities in Shanghai are already enough for it to become a financial center. But its soft power, including attractiveness to talent and foreign capital, still lags behind major global financial centers like New York and London. These are areas where Shanghai really needs to catch up," an industry observer surnamed Dong told the Global Times on Sunday.

As of the end of April 2018, total assets of foreign banks in Shanghai reached 1.5 trillion yuan, accounting for 10.3 percent of total assets of Shanghai's banking institutions, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

"Unlike other financial centers, high-end manufacturing, such as shipbuilding, still accounts for a large share of Shanghai's GDP. This could help it better confront financial risks in the future," Dong said.

Dong said that although Shanghai's GDP is leading Chinese cities, its per capita GDP is still lower than expected when compared with its domestic counterparts, and there's much scope for growth.

According to a report from Yicai.com on Sunday, Shanghai is not the first Chinese city to move into the developed economy club in terms of per capita GDP. So far, 15 Chinese cities have achieved per capita GDP figures in excess of $20,000.

Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong Province ranked top in the list with per capita GDP of 193,338 yuan, and Hangzhou in East China's Zhejiang Province (at 142,683 yuan) and Nanjing in East China's Jiangsu Province (at 153,814 yuan) had higher per capita GDP figures than Shanghai.

"Downward pressure in the domestic economy, and uncertainties in the global economy, will also pose challenges to its economy this year," Liu said.