As the largest coastal city and the economic center of North China, Tianjin plays an essentially crucial role in economic exchange and cooperation between the two sides of Taiwan Straits. With the opening up of the Binhai New Area, economic cooperation and personnel exchange between Taiwan and Tianjin have kept increasing. Tianjin is considered by Taiwan enterprises as one of the most important destinations for their investments in North China. By the end of July 2009, 2,058 Taiwan-funded enterprises had been approved by the Tianjin Municipal Government. Value of contracts signed with Taiwan enterprises reached US$ 5.863 billion. Nearly 5,000 Taiwan business people are living in Tianjin.

The Ting Hsin International Group, famous for its Master Kong instant noodles, has grown up in Tianjin TEDA. Since 1988, total investment in the mainland from the Group accrued to 18 billion yuan.

The Tianjin Municipal Government has always attached great importance to Taiwan residents living in Tianjin, with a focus on providing excellent services to Taiwan enterprises, protecting the legitimate rights of Taiwan business people and promoting common economic prosperity in both Tianjin and Taiwan. As early as in 1996, the Tianjin government promulgated Implementation Measures for the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Investment by Compatriots from Taiwan. Besides, it also worked out relevant measures convenient for Taiwan compatriots to receive convenient medical care services and education in Tianjin.

As the opening-up of the Binhai New Area was admitted into the national development strategy, Tianjin is facing the opportunity of a millennium to becoming a hot spot for overseas investment.

In recent years, Lien Chan, Chiang Pinkung and Wu Po-hsiung made successive visits to Tianjin and offered constructive ideas on the intensification of economic cooperation between Tianjin and Taiwan. Mr. Lian Chan was present at both the December 2008 and July 2009 seminars on investment and cooperation between Tianjin and Taiwan. The seminars were co-hosted by the Tianjin Municipal Government, the Tianjin Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council and the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits. The seminar seeks to further facilitate the deepening cooperation between Tianjin and Taiwan with an emphasis on promoting the development of Tianjin’s Binhai region through project matching as well as exchange and cooperation.

The lion-share of Taiwan investment in Tianjin goes to the manufacturing industry, which takes up 60 percent of Taiwan enterprises in Tianjin. Representatives such as Foxconn, SMIC and Master Kong have made remarkable achievement in the Tianjin market.

With the admission of development of Binhai New Area into the national strategy, the Tianjin Municipal Government has made full advantage of the national policy to carry out comprehensive and experimental reforms first and foremost so as to further economic exchange and cooperation across the Taiwan Strait. The Binhai New Area has become a region with intensive Taiwan investment.

At present, there are more than 900 Taiwan enterprises located in the Binhai New Area, taking up 50 percent of all enterprises of this kind in Tianjin. The value of contracts signed with Taiwan enterprises within the Binhai New Area takes up 70 percent of the total Taiwan investment in Tianjin.

Taiwan enterprises have made a positive contribution to Tianjin’s economic development. Since 1994, taxes paid by these enterprises have exceeded 5 billion yuan. A total of 170,000 job opportunities have been created by them.