Beijing's business hub takes on new image (5)

People walk in the third phase of the China World Trade Center, the latest addition to the CBD's skyscrapers. CHEN JIANLI/XINHUA

He said such a model has made offices in the CBD accessible to more businesses.

"Foreign companies' local offices may only have three to four staff, but they need a central location. So they can rent here," he said.

"Temporary teams in town for short-term projects, such as accounting teams, startups and companies in transition periods, can all benefit from an ideal location in the CBD without worrying too much about costs."

According to research by online commercial property rental platform Haozu, the shared office market in China is expanding by more than 50 percent annually. By 2030, at least 30 percent of offices will become sharing spaces, it forecast.

The report said the market size was about 9 billion yuan last year and is expected to top 100 billion yuan by 2030.