According to the latest statistical data published by Tianjin Bureau of Statistics, the 2008 per-capita GDP of Tianjin was 55,473 yuan, which is equal to US$ 7,987 based on the average annual exchange rate, with a year-on-year increase of 11.3 percent. The figure was calculated on permanent population of Tianjin, the biggest coastal and opening up city in North China, which makes Tianjin residents’ living standard reach the level of medium developed countries and regions.

During recent years, Tianjin thoroughly applies the scientific outlook for development, sparing no efforts to promote scientific, harmonious and leading development. The city further accelerates the development and opening up of its Binhai New Area. As a result, its overall economic strength has been upgraded to a new level. In 2008, Tianjin achieved a GDP of 635.438 billion yuan, growing by 130.398 billion yuan compared to that of the last year, and increased by 16.5 percent in terms of comparable prices, with a growth margin 1.3 percent higher than that of the last year.

With the overall improvement of Binhai New Area’s comprehensive and supplementary reform, a new page of the opening up and development has been unfolded. In 2008, the Area’s total production hit 310.224 billion yuan, growing by 23.1 percent compared to that of the last year, with the increase rate 2.6 percent higher than that of the last year and 6.6 percent higher than that of the whole city’s GDP growth.

Tianjin is maintaining a rapid and consistent industrial growth, with the city’s service sector gearing up remarkably. In the first half of 2009, industrial value added of Tianjin increased by 21.1 percent, hitting 168.337 billion yuan. The city’s service sector witnessed a growth rate of 14.9 percent year-on-year, accounting for 40 percent of the city’s total GDP. With the deepening of the opening-up both externally and internally, Tianjin has attracted abundant investments. The total investment in Tianjin is growing, with investment structure optimized. Major projects have been going forward step by step. Consequently, consuming demand is picking up. The total retailing of consumer goods has exceeded 200 billion yuan last year, up by 24.5 percent, an increase rate 6.3 percentage points higher than that of the previous year. The actual growth rate with the pricing factor exclusive was 18.5 percent, which is the highest since 1997.

Residents in Tianjin enjoy a consumption structure, which is oriented towards luxury and high end. In terms of fashion, people aim for a high level, being more conscious of brands and individual tastes. It is also observed that there is a fast upgrading of electric appliances such as flat-screen TVs, digital products, fridges and washing machines. Vacation and sight-seeing have become a new fashion. Besides, modern transportation and communication equipments are more popular than ever before, with the fact that by the end of 2008, among every hundred households, there had been 7.7 private automobiles and 179.1 mobile phones.