Leadership Insights | Xi's Stories: Tianjin-New Practices of Local Governments in the New Era

Striving to write Tianjin’s chapter in Chinese modernization 

Tianjin, located on the shore of Bohai Bay, is not only the largest port city but also the core area of international shipping in northern China. Historically, Tianjin rose as “Tianjinwei” due to the prosperity of the Grand Canal, and once became the economic center of the north.

Entering the new era, Tianjin has actively implemented the new development philosophy, and its economic strength has been significantly improved by continuously optimizing the industrial structure, promoting industrial upgrading, deepening reforms and expanding opening up. In addition, Tianjin has also taken an active part in the coordinated development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and constantly injected new vitality and impetus into the development of itself and its neighboring areas.

In 2023, Tianjin’s GDP reached 1,673.73 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.3%, and the growth rate was 3.3% faster than that of the previous year.

On May 18, 2023, the Tiankai Higher Education Innovation Park was officially opened. 

Over more than half a year, more than 1,100 tech companies had registered in the park, and 203 financial and service institutions had settled in. 

In 2023, Tianjin Port opened several new sea routes, with a total of 145 container routes and more than 40 sea-rail intermodal transport routes.

In the first 11 months of 2023, 630 China-Europe Railway Express trains departed from Tianjin Port, and more than 60% of imported and exported trade goods they transported came from BRI partner countries.

In 2024, Tianjin will launch a total of 807 key construction projects, with a total investment of 1.62 trillion yuan and an annual planned investment of 246.578 billion yuan.

In 2023, the total GDP of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region added up to 10.4 trillion yuan, of which Tianjin contributed 1,673.73 billion yuan. 

(Sources: The website of Tianjin Municipal Government, Tianjin Municipal Development and Reform Commission, and Beijing Municipal Bureau of Statistics)

As the maritime gateway of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the northern, northwestern and northeastern regions and an important hub of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Tianjin will continue to focus on the central task of economic development and the primary task of high-quality development in the future. It will forge ahead with heavy responsibilities and an enterprising spirit to build itself into a modern socialist metropolis in an all-round way, and strive to write Tianjin’s chapter in Chinese modernization.