Largest port city in North China accelerates revival pace

TIANJIN -- Container ships flying flags of various countries are moored in the port of Binhai New Area in Tianjin, with cranes rapidly loading and unloading their cargo. Nearby, the Tianjin International Cruise Home Port has also been busy, having welcomed a total of 49 international cruise ships and accommodated 168,000 passengers in the first half of 2024.

All of this confirms the busy and booming scene in Tianjin, the largest port city in northern China, amid the central government's call for "high-quality development."

On July 22 this year, Chinese Premier Li Qiang urged Tianjin to undertake all reform tasks, foster high-standard opening-up initiatives, vigorously embark on innovation endeavors, and drive high-quality development through further comprehensively deepening reform.

2024 marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Tianjin Pilot Free Trade Zone (TPFTZ). Policies are to be carried out to further support the high-quality development of Tianjin's Binhai New Area, according to a recent State Council executive meeting.

Tianjin, located 120 kilometers to the east of Beijing, is a witness of China's modern history.

In 1860, British and French armies landed at and occupied Tianjin, and also forced the city to open up to foreign business. In 1900, the aggressive troops sent by then eight major countries again seized Tianjin and then stormed their way to Beijing to suppress the Boxer Uprising. Tianjin was the major headquarters of the Boxers, whose goal was to expel all foreigners from China.

Foreigners established settlement areas in Tianjin. By the early 20th century, the city was transformed into an international metropolis, rivaling Shanghai in prosperity at that time.

Today, the city has emerged as a significant destination for foreign investment. Last year, the actual use of foreign investment in the TPFTZ increased by 18 percent year-on-year. More than 290 Fortune 500 companies have invested in the city.

Tianjin houses the sole Airbus civil aircraft final assembly line in Asia, where over 700 of the A320 series aircraft have been assembled for customers in Asia and Europe. Tianjin is also the world's second-largest aircraft leasing base, accounting for one-third of China's civil aviation leasing industry.

The New York-based Juilliard School has set up a campus in the Tianjin Municipality. Ellen Sirower, a 25-year-old New Yorker pursuing her PhD degree, told reporters that she would undertake her summer internship at Tianjin Juilliard School to enhance her professional skills and gain a better understanding of China.

"Over the past 40 years of reform and opening up, we have proactively seized the opportunities brought about by economic globalization," said Liang Yiming, vice director of the management committee of Tianjin's Binhai New Area, while adding that "now we have reached a new starting point for development."

This enthusiasm for development in Tianjin reflects nationwide efforts to implement the requirements of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to further deepen reforms comprehensively and achieve the goal of "building a socialist modernized strong country in all respects."

Although Tianjin is one of China's four municipalities directly under the central government and a traditional industrial hub, its GDP ranks 24th among 31 provincial-level regions in the country, and many people believe that there is still a need for further development in Tianjin.

The key task is to promote integrated development of technological and industrial innovation, create more effective platforms for scientific innovation, and bolster incentives for researchers and support for small and medium-sized tech firms.

The new medical school laboratory at Tianjin University is engaged in the research of brain-computer interface technology. Researchers there have successfully enabled the human brain to directly control drones and send WeChat messages, and have created a "brain-like" system, realizing unmanned control of robots to perform tasks such as obstacle avoidance, tracking, grasping and more.

The university's medical school is collaborating with scientists from multiple countries. "Our goal is to benefit patients, such as those with Alzheimer's disease and the partially-abled," said Liu Xiuyun, a professor and chief scientist of the medical school.

Also in Tianjin, a new material provider has successfully produced high-standard welding materials for large LNG tanks, promoting domestic tech self-sufficiency in this field, while an AI-based company there is capable of folding solar arrays to one-tenth of their original size for more convenient transportation.

Both of them joined the Tianjin Tiankai Higher Education Innovation Park last year -- a hub for more than 2,000 innovative companies, banks and university labs.

Beijing-Tianjin Zhongguancun Science and Technology City, situated in the Baodi District of Tianjin, is another crucial platform for implementing the integrated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Favorable policies for talent attraction and other incentives are important for industrial park development.

Men Liping from Hebei province recently relocated with her company from Beijing to Tianjin. "Based on the previous policy, I didn't meet the conditions to settle in Tianjin. The thought of relocating with my company and my children attending schools in different places lingered in my mind. Thankfully, the new policy not only resolved the issue of my children's enrollment in Tianjin but also facilitated my settlement here," Men said.

"The revival of Tianjin has great significance. By unleashing the power of the market economy, we will achieve high-quality development," said Zhang Xueying, chairman of Tiankai Park.