Tianjin to free 'new productive forces'
Tianjin, a municipality in North China, is intensifying efforts to leverage its strengths and spearhead the advancement of new productive forces, in response to President Xi Jinping's call during his visit earlier this month.
Xi called on the city to attach equal importance to scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, strengthen the building of sci-tech innovation parks, further integrate the digital economy with the real economy, and promote the high-end, smart and green development of its manufacturing sector.
He called on Tianjin to strengthen its coordination with Beijing on sci-tech innovation and the integration of industrial systems, so as to jointly build world-class advanced manufacturing clusters.
Yin Jihui, Party chief and director of the Tianjin Industrial and Information Technology Bureau, said: "The city is poised to make significant strides in upgrading its industries, accelerating the convergence of the digital and real economies, and promoting high-end digitalization, intelligent and 'green' manufacturing."
Yin emphasized that this year, the city will persistently strive to promote its coordinated development within the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, aiming to make the three locations into international advanced manufacturing clusters.
A recent significant development was the establishment of an advanced manufacturing alliance for the region at the beginning of this year. Based in Tianjin, it comprises nearly 100 top domestic and foreign intelligent manufacturing companies.
Furthermore, the bureau revealed that additional projects are in the pipeline. Some 32 industrial parks and 12 industrial chains backed by leading companies are taking shape in the city.
Post Spring Festival, international manufacturing companies in Tianjin have ramped up their production, showcasing the city's position as a hub for the manufacturing sector in China and underscoring their commitment to mutually beneficial growth alongside Chinese manufacturers.
For instance, German company Benteler, which ranks among the Top 100 auto part producers globally, operates 16 auto part and module companies in China and has seen robust sales growth in Tianjin since launching its factories in the city's Beichen district in 2021.
Liao Kai, the general manager of its Tianjin branch, highlighted the company's focus on digitalization and intelligent manufacturing, along with several ongoing industrial upgrading projects in the city's top industrial ecosystem.
Notably, the company's sales revenue surged by 200 percent last year and is projected to exceed 940 million yuan ($130.6 million) this year.
Liao also mentioned that new rounds of industrial upgrading, incorporating new robots and equipment renovation with digital operations, are underway in the city.
In addition, Boeing Tianjin Composites told Tianjin TV that this year, its Boeing 747 and 737 aircraft models' 1,500 components' orders will double in volume compared to last year, with their value hitting 1.3 billion yuan.
The engineers began their work on the fourth day of the eight-day Spring Festival holiday, in order to deliver the first batch of the orders.
Liu Lei, a senior executive in charge of production of the company, said, "With new facilities and engineers, our production capacity is expected to surge to 20,000 units from the current 12,000 units per month."
The company's latest investment of up to 650 million yuan is expected to expand its production capacity and new facilities are expected to be put into service this April.
According to data from the bureau, in 2023, the incremental industrial value of the Tianjin's integrated circuit, internet of vehicles and aerospace industries grew by 20.9 percent, 19.2 percent and 17.8 percent, respectively.
