Tianjin looking to attract new outside investments

Northern port city plans further steps to speed up economic transformation

Tianjin, a northern port city, is ramping up efforts to attract more high-end homegrown and foreign-funded companies, particularly those in the service sector, a top official said on Tuesday.

The Chinese city said it would help further speed up regional economic integration with Beijing and the neighboring Hebei province. A coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area has been one of China’s strategic priorities.

Zheng Weiming, director of the Tianjin Binhai Central Business District Area management committee, said the Tianjin Binhai New Area would be targeting companies that are focused on innovation and would “optimize investment policies and strengthen the necessary infrastructure.”

A new high-speed railway line linking Tianjin with Beijing is expected to built in the next five years, according to Zheng.

“There is a growing trend that companies which were incubated in Beijing are choosing to grow up in Tianjin,” Zheng said, citing Linkdoc, an online platform collecting healthcare data, as an example.

Since 2015, at least 1,043 Beijing-based companies, with a total registered capital of over 150 billion yuan ($22.67 billion) have started operations in the Tianjin Binhai area. During the first six months of the year, more than 200 highquality firms from Beijing have set up offices in the city.

“We also want foreign companies to invest here, especially those in the service industry,” he said. About 300 Fortune 500 firms currently have units in Tianjin.

Initiated in 2013, the coordinated plan aims to boost synergic development in the BeijingTianjin-Hebei region, which was once blamed for China’s widening income disparities.

According to a report in March, the region was listed as one of three major projects to promote China’s economy over the next century, together with the Yangtze River Delta Economic Region, and the Belt and Road Initiative.

A 10 billion yuan government-backed fund was set up in late September to address unbalanced development, tackle pollution and forge a new growth path.

Miao Yuzhuang, deputy director of Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Administrative Committee, said green energy is one of the sectors that can improve environment quality. “We are promoting alternative energy technologies while increasing energy utilization and efficiency.”

Wu Hequan, deputy head of a committee of expert consultants on Beijing-TianjinHebei coordination, said if the increased efforts will lead to tangible results, the region may outdo the Yangtze and Pearl river deltas in overall economic strength by 2030.

We also want foreign companies to invest here, especially those in the services industry.” Zheng Weiming,

Xinhua contributed to the story.