A technician works on the production line of a Volkswagen plant in Shanghai. [Photo/Xinhua]

A total of 152 major investment deals worth 441.8 billion yuan ($62.3 billion) were inked in Shanghai on Tuesday, a fresh signal of the city's effort to promote social economic development while taming the novel coronavirus epidemic.

The signing ceremony also witnessed the unveiling of 26 special industrial parks, each claiming 3 to 5 square kilometers; an additional 60 square kilometers of new industrial space; as well as the Shanghai Investment Promotion Platform.

Newly signed industrial projects are concentrated in sectors including integrated circuit, artificial intelligence, biopharmaceutical, aviation and aerospace, and intelligent manufacturing, all of which are in line with Shanghai's pledge to move toward high-end manufacturing and seek high-quality economic growth.

The total investment in foreign-funded projects exceeded $16 billion.

The municipal government said it strives to prioritize the development of key sectors and key companies, by introducing subsidiaries of leading technology powerhouses like Tencent, AI unicorn SenseTime and fabless semiconductor company Unisoc.

Shanghai will further streamline the process and provide all-around service to attract companies to set foot in the city. To this end, the dedicated platform which debuted on Tuesday aimed to function as a smart service platform to attract investment. It has aggregated 400 policies, covered 200 industrial zones and 3,000 office buildings, and provided over 200,000 pieces of industry-specific information.