Tianjin Binhai New Area is expediting thedevelopment and opening-up as the pioneerwith perspective of scientific developmentDeveloping and opening up the “Binhai New Area”was included in the general national developmentstrategy in recent years, and the city of Tianjin hasundoubtedly become the most shiny star in theChina’s regional economic development. Thanks tothe Binhai New Area, Tianjin is gradually establishingitself and become more clearly with its developmentorientation. Along with the rise of the BinhaiNew Area, Tianjin is to embrace the biggest historicalopportunity for self-development.

The Binhai New Area covers a planned area of 2,270square kilometers. After several years’ developmentand construction, the Area’s major economicindexes have been growing at annual rate of morethan 20 percent. In 2007, the local GDP of the BinhaiNew Area totaled at RMB 236.408 billion yuan,with the accumulative overseas investment in placeamounting to US$ 23.1 billion. Eighty-nine corporationsfrom the World Top 500 list have invested andset up 219 local companies in the Binhai New Area.

Tianjin Municipal Government has given top priorityto pushing forward the development and opening-upof the Binhai New Area. In 2007, a leading team aimingat expediting the development and opening-upof the Area was established to conciliate and solvemajor problems occurring in the course of developingthe Area. Since last year, a citywide meeting andfive leading-group seminars have been held to studyand map out plans for several major issues, includingthe overall planning of the Binhai New Area, the constructionof key projects and infrastructure, ecologyand environment protection and the enhancementof independent innovation.

In the first half of 2008, the New Area achieved aGDP of 146.745 billion yuan, with an increase of 23percent year-on-year. Key projects have been goingon well. By the end of June, the Binhai New Areahad witnessed the completion of land filling projectin the 3-square-kilometer starting zone of the Sino-Singapore Eco-city and a 20-million-cubic-metreland reclamation project in Dongjiang Bonded PortArea. The construction of passenger liner port andtourism sights in the east part of the Area havebeen going well. The one-million-ton ethylenecracker project and the Airbus A320 general assemblyline are also in full swing.

Being a part of the national development strategy,the impacts of Binhai New Area’s development andopening-up have emerged and the Area is makingsubstantial progress in terms of cooperation withadjacent provinces and cities. The Binhai New Areais expediting the construction of international shippingcenter of North China and international logisticshub to revitalize regional economy. The movewill also exert obvious influence on strengtheningcomprehensive function and stimulate growth ofrelated industries. The number of the inland customs,with which Tianjin has customs declarationcooperation increases to 17 including Lhasa andChongqing. In this way, the speed of goods flow betweenthe inland and the port city has improved alot. Furthermore, electronic port and logistic informationplatform have been put into operation, andfive inland water-free ports are established in placesincluding Beijing, Shijiazhuang, Henan Province,Ningxia Autonomous Region and Baotou. Tianjintakes the lead in adopting the monitoring systemfor inland water-free ports.

As the pilot zone for China’s comprehensive reformsand experimental development, the BinhaiNew Area has pinpointed six areas as the priority inthe financial reform and innovation, and has madeinitial progress in areas such as direct financing.

To give full play to the role of the Binhai New Areaas the driving force for regional economy, Tianjinplays its due role to strengthen “four capacities” inits development and opening-up, namely comprehensivestrength, innovation capacity, service capacityand international competitiveness. Therefore,the New Area will be able to make the transformationfrom “Made in Binhai” to “Created in Binhai”.The Binhai New Area has formed a multi-layer technology-innovation system with the establishment of33 national, provincial and ministerial engineeringcenters, 80 company-owned R&D centers, and 41foreign-invested R&D centers in the area.

The report to the 17th National Congress of theCPC presents higher and clearer requirements forthe Binhai New Area. Therefore, the New Area hasto put the enhancement of innovative ability in thestrategic core position. Attaching great importanceto independent innovation, using quality talentedpeople with innovation spirit and carrying out systemreform of science and technology, the Area isdetermined to gradually establish a well-developedinnovation system concerning science and technologyand pursue a path of independent innovationwith its own characteristics.

The Binhai New Area enlarges input in science andtechnology and creates a better innovation environment,while expediting the construction and importof major projects and forming high-level industrystructure. Started with establishing and perfectingscientific and technological innovation system,the Binhai New Area is formulating and perfectingpolicies and regulations encouraging companiesto invest in science and technology innovation andto share science and technology resources. Meanwhile,the new area will enlarge inputs in scienceand technology and optimize the environment forinnovation and starting new business.

The New Area initiated 56 national, ministerial andprovincial major science and technology projects,including the International Bio-PharmaceuticalInnovation Park and Civil Aviation Science & TechnologyIndustrialization Base. The R&D and experimentinvestment accounts for 2.2 percent of theNew Area’s GDP and the output value from highendtechnology industry takes 47 percent of thetotal output. A high- and new-technology industrycluster takes shape preliminarily, involving electronicinformation, bio-pharmaceutical, OME andnew material. This cluster boasts a certain ability toconduct R&D projects and achieve development inthe areas of biochip, membrane technology, electricvehicle, stem cells and nano.

The development and opening-up of the Binhai NewArea is related to the development of the whole country.The New Area, strictly abiding by the requirementissued by the Central Government, intends to conductregional development through scientific outlook, strivingfor a GDP exceeding RMB 350 billion yuan and ahigh-and-new-tech-industry output constituting morethan 50 percent of the GDP by 2010.