"...Of all China's cities, Shanghai has gone furthest toward the success factors for a global "smart city." Its ambition to become a major financial center and player on the international stage by 2015 has fueled this drive. History has also given Shanghai many advantages. It is probably the most outward-looking of any Chinese city and has a strong political voice in Beijing. The latter has allowed Shanghai to lead the way in many initiatives because China's political leaders often use the city to test out new ideas. As a result, many initiatives that started in Shanghai have now spread elsewhere in China."