Shen Kaiyan, member of the CPPCC Shanghai Committee and director of the Institute of Economics at Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences As the Chinese saying goes, “Plans can never keep up with changes.” The novel coronavirus pandemic has brought about rapidly evolving and unpredictable changes to domestic and global situations. The outbreak is unprecedented in its intensity, scale, duration and socioeconomic impacts. Its impact on the economy in Shanghai will far exceed that of SARS in 2003. But just as SARS has given rise to emerging sectors such as e-commerce, social networking and online games, which nurtured heavyweight players like Alibaba, Tencent and JD that are constantly injecting vitality to our social economic development and way of life to date, we believe the current coronavirus epidemic is bound to foster new industries despite the disasters and losses we’ve experienced in economic activities and existing lifestyle. Call it “opportunities embedded in crisis” or “in weal or woe”- the key is whether we manage to identify, grasp and promote the growth of these emerging industries. Based on the analysis of the impact of the pandemic on global scientific and technological innovation as well as industrial development, future industrial models will change along with the changing situation of the pandemic. For Shanghai, we need to plan with deliberation in order to seize development opportunities brought by the new economy and new industries, address challenges, embrace opportunities, and accelerate the materialization of major tasks and projects. Future industrial models will show further signs of segmentation While labor-intensive manufacturing will be dealt a heavy and long-lasting blow, we can still see the expedited penetration of cutting-edge technologies like Internet, big data and cloud computing to various fields including daily life, corporate operations and government management during the epidemic. The rise of new businesses like e-commerce sites featuring fresh produces, immersive scenarios, remote working, online education and unmanned driving have demonstrated the mushrooming of new lifestyles and experiences. For example, the epidemic has not only popularized the concept of “contactless economy” but accelerated the adoption of robots in manufacturing scenarios. These two changes can only be realized with the aid of artificial intelligence technology. After the epidemic, the level of intelligence and interconnectivity in Shanghai’s economic and social life are likely to sprint ahead and bring a strong impetus to enhancing labor productivity of the entire society. Another example: Once the “work-from-home” trend popularized by the epidemic becomes the new norm, it will exert multifaceted impacts on Shanghai’s economy and society. First, WFH or No-Commute Work will alter the city’s transportation landscape, such as changing traffic and people flow, spatial and time structures, as well as layout of commercial spaces. These will reduce population flow in central business districts, fuel the transformation of business districts formed around traditional commercial centers, and force the building economy and co-working spaces to embrace new positionings and functionalities.