Tianjin Optimization Sees Rocketing Foreign Trade and Investment

Tianjin’s actions in refining its business climate over the last two years have paid off, having recorded promising performances in its business climate and economic indicators.

Tianjin, a major port city in northern China, reported record highs in its foreign trade volume and a rocketing in foreign investment, an indicator of its notable achievements in optimizing its business climate.

Between January and May this year, the import and export volume reached 336.37 billion yuan($50.16 billion), a new record for the same period. The city’s actual use of foreign capital soared 40.2 percent, year-on-year, to hit $3.41 billion.

In 2020, Tianjin formulated the “Tianjin Three-Year Action Plan for Optimizing the Business Environment”, and introduced 42 measures to refine its government services, market environment, and the legal environment, aiming for international first-class standards.

The local government provides targeted and systematic support based on companies’ concrete needs and helps to promote their development.

Government officers designated to strengthening the government’s connections with 156 major export and import companies have played an important role in collecting and reporting problems and building effective support plans.

Last year saw the city’s actual use of foreign capital grow 13.8 percent, year-on-year, to $5.39 billion, the best growth rate in the past 8 years.

Additionally, the city’s foreign trade achieved a record high in import and export volume, reaching 856.74 billion yuan last year. 235 foreign companies increased their investment by $7.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 24.7 percent.

The Tianjin Pilot Free Trade Zone deepened reforms with 502 new institutional measures, with 38 of them having been adopted nationwide.

In the first five months of the year, Tianjin Port’s container throughput reached a record high of 8.47 million TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 2.2 percent. The customs clearance efficiency of Tianjin Port continues to lead major shipping ports across the country.