At the beginning of 1990, Deng Lao inspected Shanghai. He said that the development of Pudong in Shanghai is not a local matter. The development of Pudong can promote the development of the Yangtze River Delta and the Yangtze River Basin, so it is a national matter.

He said: "Shanghai is our trump card and a shortcut to build Shanghai." He said frankly: "We said that Shanghai is developing late, so we should work hard!" He blamed himself: "One of my big mistakes was that I didn't add Shanghai to the four special economic zones."