Growing with Our Investors—TEDA Sets Sail for New Horizons in Its Prime (2010-2014)

In 2014, the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA) celebrated its 30th anniversary. Over the past three decades, TEDA has explored a successful path for opening-up and achieved prosperous development as a national-level development zone. In the face of more and more intense regional competition, how to propel industrial transformation and upgrading and maintain TEDA’s role model as a leading national-level development zone was an urgent issue for TEDA people. The spirit of facing challenges head-on and pioneering innovation vividly reflected TEDA’s growth and drove TEDA’s economy to flourish.

Since approved as one of the earliest national-level development zones in 1984, TEDA has evolved from a 33-square-kilometer salt pan into a 408-square-kilometer cosmopolitan metropolis. Over the past 30 years, this area expansion by dozens of times has witnessed remarkable economic leapfrog and city prosperity. By 2014, a landscape of 10 sub-zones had been shaped, namely, TEDA East, TEDA West, Nangang Industrial Zone, TEDA Central Zone, Beitang Enterprise Headquarters Park (now known as Binhai Zhongguancun Science Park), TEDA Industrial Park, Yat-sen Scientific Industrial Park (now known as Yat-sen Intelligence & Innovation Park), Micro-electronics Industrial Park (now known as Micro-electronics Innovation Industrial Park), TEDA Intelligence Valley, and TEDA South Emerging Industries Zone, each of which had its own orientation. A clear-targeted, well-planned, and distinctive-featured spatial layout has been created. Notably, TEDA East saw comprehensive upgrades in both industries and environments, which well reflected the central area’s character within Tianjin Binhai New Area. Additionally, TEDA West experienced rapid growth in manufacturing, with the launch of heavyweight projects like Great Wall Motors Tianjin Manufacturing Base and China’s Next-gen Carrier Rocket Industrialization Base marking a new growth phase for the park. Moreover, Nangang Industrial Zone underwent rapid construction, as the Nangang Port opened for trail navigation on August 31, 2011, signaling the rise of this future world-class petrochemical industry base. In 2014, TEDA Nangang Industrial Zone was recognized as the National-level Petrochemical Industrial Base, ushering in new development opportunities. Meanwhile, other sub-zones were making giant strides in fostering featured industrial growth.

The flourishing of these sub-zones was underpinned by TEDA’s constant efforts in optimizing its business environment. TEDA has been proactively helping investors expedite various approval process since its inception. In 2000, a unified Investment Service Center was set up to implement TEDA’s “all-in-one service at one stop”. This concentration of both space and access greatly streamlined the approval process and improved efficiency for businesses. Then in 2014, TEDA implemented “one seal of approval” to further simplify the approval process. It is the first national-level development zone to integrate seals into one. The upgrade of integrated approval process benefited both enterprises and the public with more efficient and convenient services.

Over the years, TEDA’s economy has been running in front of the national average as TEDA maintained one of China’s top development zones in China. By the end of 2014, TEDA became home to nearly 14,000 enterprises and attracted 5,358 foreign-invested projects with actually utilized foreign investment reaching $43.6 billion, among which were 230 projects invested by 89 Fortune 500 companies. These increasingly accumulative domestic and foreign investment projects was attributed to TEDA people’s daring, innovative spirit and relentless pursuit of success.

TEDA has kept pace with multinational corporations, powerful state-owned enterprises, and dynamic private enterprises throughout its development. From Motorola’s dominance to the rise of 1-trillion-yuan-scale electronics & information industry cluster, and from FAW Toyota’s settlement to the establishment of fully-fledged automotive industrial chain, TEDA has completely moved beyond the reliance on a few large enterprises to become a fertile ground for diverse industries to bloom. On this ground, numerous new industrial plants were emerging as engineering projects progressed at full speed. Industries such as biomedicine, equipment manufacturing, petrochemicals, food & beverages, and aerospace were developing shoulder-to-shoulder while electronics & information and automotive industry outpacing the nation. TEDA has been recognized as one of China’s Demo Bases for Auto Neo-Industrialization and National Neo-Industrialization Demo Base for Electronics & Information Industry. A favorable industrial ecosystem attracted increasing investment from enterprises both at home and abroad. Leading enterprises and innovative firms, such as Foxconn, Pharmaron, Rofsmicro, and Emaging, set up operations here. Projects like Great Wall Motors Tianjin Manufacturing Base, Shell Lubricants, and Yakult Tianjin Plant went into production, along with the Sinopec LNG project continued to progress.

In 2012, Volkswagen Automatic Transmission (Tianjin) Co., Ltd. (VWATJ), Tianjin’s largest wholly foreign-owned manufacturing project at the time, broke ground in TEDA West. This €927 million project manufactured the world’s most advanced dual-clutch gearboxes. “TEDA Transmission Manufacturing Base will become one of Volkswagen’s key hubs for producing auto components. We use the most advanced technical standards at the base,” said Jochem Heizmann, then President and CEO of Volkswagen Group (China). Heizmann also said that Volkswagen will do more to provide Chinese consumers with products with the most advanced technology and the highest quality standards in the future. In 2014, Volkswagen Transmission Manufacturing Base went into production. Volkswagen has been committed to introducing the latest transmission products into the Tianjin Base to deepen its presence in TEDA.

Meanwhile, internationally advanced technologies were introduced to TEDA along with new products. Heavyweight R&D centers successively settled here, such as AVL List Technical Center, FAW Toyota R&D Center, Novozymes Biotechnology Lab, CFHI (China First Heavy Industries) R&D Center, and Agricultural Machinery Test Center of John Deere China Engineering Center, all of which have strengthened TEDA’s advanced manufacturing industrial chain and injected new vitality into the sector. In 2011, SGS Tianjin Wind Energy Technology Center, Asia’s first third-party center of its kind, began operations in TEDA West. The Center stood in China, where it operated business in Asia and even global markets. At that time, TEDA already had leading wind power companies such as Vestas and Dongfang Electric, along with a number of upstream and downstream enterprises, which provided a solid foundation for the wind power industry. “SGS set up a testing center in Tianjin. This not only makes it convenient for wind turbine blade manufacturers to carry out authoritative third-party testing and certification right at their doorstep, but also helps enhance China’s technological R&D of wind turbines and key components,” said Shentu Xianzhong, then managing director of SGS China.

Manufacturing laid a strong foundation for the growth of modern services in this fertile land. TEDA’s modern services saw rapid development in headquarters economy, finance, commerce, and logistics. Internet companies like 58.com and Sohu established their Tianjin headquarters in TEDA. The newly launched TEDA MSD provided abundant carrier resources to support industrial clustering. The modern service industrial ecosystem in TEDA has taken shape.

As a key platform for China’s opening-up to the world, TEDA plays a critical role in international exchange and attracting foreign investment. Through its interactions with foreign enterprises and international organizations, TEDA has gained experience and ventured into a path of green and innovative development.

As early as 2007, TEDA issued the Interim Regulations for Promoting Energy Conservation, Emission Reduction, and Environmental Protection in Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area. Furthermore, a TEDA Green Development Fund was established with an annual budget of 100 million yuan to support investors in adopting circular economy models. Following this, TEDA formulated the Plan of Building a Beautiful TEDA, incorporating concepts such as eco-industry, circular economy, low-carbon economy, and ecological civilization into its overall and sector-specific plans to accelerate industrial transformation and upgrading. By this time, TEDA had built a comprehensive environmental protection infrastructure, including wastewater treatment center, central heating center, and electroplating wastewater treatment center. It also established the first regional environmental monitoring system in Tianjin and introduced green platforms and organizations to ensure sustainable development. “We are introducing and developing institutions for energy audits, contract energy management, clean production audits, ISO 14001 environmental management system certification, as well as technical training, communication, and promotion. They offer environmental protection and energy conservation certifications, and technical consulting services to companies in the area,” according to a senior executive from TEDA.

In 2010, TEDA set up Tianjin TEDA Low Carbon Promotion Center, China’s first specialized public service platform dedicated to promoting regional low-carbon development. Within just five years, the Center had established connections with over 500 technology suppliers for energy-saving and environmental protection. Every year the center organized a series of events for low-carbon technology communications and exchanges. It was also in charge of implementing international projects like EU Industrial Symbiosis and China-Japan (Tianjin-Ibaraki) Environmental Cooperation. The center served as a bridge for introducing internationally advanced concepts, technologies, and services into TEDA, to drive the development of low-carbon industries in Tianjin Binhai New Area, Tianjin Municipality and other surrounding regions.

To further promote green industrial development, TEDA has introduced supplementary enterprises along industrial chains to forge closer links among product chains and utilize resources more efficiently. For instance, “A scrap circuit board will be well used in TEDA,” said Jiang Zhiping, General Manager of TAIDING (Tianjin) Environment Technology Co., Ltd., a company that specializes in e-waste recycling. The company recovers metals, plastics, and other resources from e-waste for reuse in TEDA’s industries. Such waste-to-resource companies like TAIDING is a key component of TEDA’s circular industrial chain. TEDA has created an industrial chain for circular economy that keeps materials and products in circulation and transforms waste to renewable resources, and back to products. This circulation added green vitality to TEDA’s manufacturing sector.

TEDA has witnessed its enhancing industrial strength and economic scale. By 2014, it had developed into a green and fully-fledged cosmopolitan metropolis characterized by tall buildings, convenient transportation, and superior infrastructure. It was home to people from over 30 countries and regions, with different languages and cultures blending together, giving the city a unique, diverse cultural quality. Moreover, TEDA has built a comprehensive and high-quality education system covering preschool education, compulsory education, vocational education, and higher education. By 2014, nearly 30 schools had been built, able to meet various educational needs of domestic and foreign investors as well as local residents. Additionally, TEDA boasts abundant medical resources. TEDA International Cardiovascular Hospital, an Asia’s top and China’s Grade 3A cardiovascular specialty hospital, was built here. A comprehensive healthcare system including general hospitals, specialized hospitals, and community health centers has been in place. Meanwhile, large international shopping areas such as AEON Mall and ISETAN opened. Tianjin Chow Tai Fook Financial Center, the world’s seventh tallest skyscraper and the top 1 tallest in North China, started construction. TEDA has grown into a livable city full of vitality and progress.

This area is also a hub for culture and arts. In 2012, TEDA joined hands with professional art groups like the Tianjin Symphony Orchestra, Tianjin National Music Art Troupe, and Tianjin Opera and Dance Drama Theater to bring music to outdoors. The fruit, TEDA Classic Music and Culture Plaza has become an important brand cultural event of TEDA. Moreover, the TEDA Marathon kicked off at TEDA MSD in 2014. This was the first and largest mass sports event organized by TEDA, attracting a lot of attention. Over 3,000 participants from 91 enterprises and organizations attended this marathon. The TEDA Marathon has since become a regular cultural and sports brand event, with people from around the world taking part every time it opened. With down-to-earth approaches, TEDA has been improving its business environment step by step. It has made great progress in improving people’s well-being while welcoming investors and visitors across the globe with openness and inclusiveness.

In December 2014, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of TEDA, the iconic city landmark “Setting Sail for New Horizons” settled. The sculpture, strong and resolute, resembles a golden mast that supports the sail of a ship embarking on a new journey, just like TEDA exploring new paths in its opening-up. This national-level development zone is braving the waves and forging ahead on the road to development.