Binhai rises as economic power in just two decades
Leader in reform and opening-up reaps the benefits
In the National Museum of China, there is a glass case which holds the 109 government seals previously needed for various certifications of civil affairs in Binhai New Area, Tianjin. Today, just one seal is needed in place of those 109.
In 2014, the area became a pioneer in simplifying the administrative approval system and optimizing government services.
As one of the 12 National Synthetic Reform Testing Districts — the areas which are piloting the new administrative approval system — Binhai has tried to shake off redundancy in government processes to help fuel economic development and improve social governance.
The streamlined system has made it more attractive for businesses to operate in places such as Binhai-Zhongguancun Science Park, where from January to September, a total of 415 companies settled.
Tianjin Lishen Battery Joint-Stock, a lithium battery producer, has operated in Binhai for 20 years. At first, it had just two rooms and seven employees. Today it provides lithium batteries for some of the world’s biggest companies including Apple, Samsung and LG.
“Many achievements have been made after the reform. It gives companies better chances to do business and we have benefited from the policy,” said Qin Xingcai, chairman of the company, to People’s Daily.
Revenue of the Tianjin branch of Sew Eurodrive, a Germany-invested company which manufactures gearboxes, has increased from 30 million yuan ($4.3 million) to 6.5 billion yuan after operating in the area for some 20 years.
Zhang Shengli, general manager of Sew China, told Economic Daily that the area has an ideal investment environment, government support and plentiful resources for machinery manufacturing.
To compare the area to a car, the administrative system is the engine, said Yang Maorong, district governor of Binhai New Area. “Only if we insist on comprehensively deepening the reform and innovation of the system, can the engine become more powerful.”
“It only takes eight minutes to get the electronic business license,” an executive from Tianjin Dongjiang Youmeijia Housekeeping Management told Guangming Daily.
Paperless registrations have also gained popularity among local technological, internet, sharing companies and entrepreneurs.
Due to its optimized business environment, the area has attracted nearly 400 projects by Fortune Global 500 enterprises and the annual inflow of foreign investment has surpassed $10 billion.
Binhai New Area’s preferential policies are not just aimed at businesses but talents as well. Graduates with bachelor’s degree or above can apply for a hukou — the register of permanent residence. The government has also allocated total funds of up to 1 billion yuan to promote innovation and entrepreneurship.
The salt pans that ran along the Bohai Sea coastline some 30 years ago have been transformed via reform and opening-up into a bustling metropolis of commerce and trade — the Binhai New Area.
Ye Disheng, former director of the management committee of Tianjin EconomicTechnological Development Area, a part of Binhai New Area, still remembers how shocked he was when he first visited the area in 1984.
“There was nothing but saline wasteland. I thought at least there should be some factories,” Ye said.
In 2006, the area started to trial reform policies, becoming the second National Synthetic Reform Testing District, following Pudong New Area in Shanghai. As of today it has completed 90 reform trials and 175 innovations in reform.
To change its fortunes, the Binhai New Area government established philosophies of “service as a productive force”, “helping companies to make money first” and “providing convenience to investors”, which quickly made it a hot spot for investment.
According to official statistics from the Binhai New Area government, on average every half an hour, a company is registered there and every second, capital valued at 17,000 yuan ($2,442) is invested.
Via Tianjin Port, which is located in the district, airplanes, rockets, ships, locomotives and other high-end equipment are transported from Binhai to the outside world.
Airbus China’s A320 production line has been operating in Binhai for the past 10 years, assembling some 400 airplanes.
Xu Gang, CEO of the company, told People’s Daily that Airbus is confident for the cooperation with Binhai New Area for the next 10 years.
Emerging high-tech industries have also gradually replaced traditional manufacturing industries, as part of the government’s effort to optimize the economic structure of the region.
Its major industries range from aerospace and biological medicine to new materials and new energy, according to Tang Zhongfu, deputy director of the development and reform commission of the area.
Rofs Microsystem (Tianjin), a local company, is developing advanced microchips as small as 1 square millimeter to be used in mobile phones and other communication products.
Zhang Guanjie, assistant to the general manager of the company, told China National Radio that annual production is expected to be valued at 10 billion yuan in the following two to three years.
By the end of 2017, Binhai New Area has 464 municipal-level and above research centers, including 111 key laboratories and 241 technological centers of companies, data from the area showed.
Binhai New Area, as the most important cluster for the manufacturing industry in northern China, has today become an advanced manufacturing base, Cong Yi, professor from the Tianjin University of Finance and Economics told Economic Daily.