Private Economy Booms in Both Scale and Quality When TEDA Advances High-End, Intelligent, and Green Industrial Development

Recently, Tianjin released the list of its top 100 private enterprises. Investors from TEDA shine on the list by their outstanding performance in operating revenue, tax contributions, technological innovation, and strategic emerging industries—with many of them ranking on the top. Such encouraging achievement reflects the vibrant economic pulse and industrial upgrading of TEDA, which is known as the best development zone in northern China.

Private enterprises from TEDA which made the list this time include not only leaders of the region’s traditionally advantaged sectors such as automotive and equipment manufacturing but also front runners in emerging fields like biomedicine, new materials, robotics, and financial services. This fully demonstrates the solid industrial foundation of TEDA as well as its innovative dynamism.

On the list of Top 100 Enterprises by Revenue， companies such as Rongcheng Group, Jianlong Steel, and Great Wall Motor are quite eye-catching. Notably, Rongcheng Group secured the second position on the list with revenue of 130 billion yuan, ranking among the top three on Tianjin's Top 100 Private Enterprises List for one more time. These industry leaders are crucial pillars of the advanced manufacturing sector for TEDA and Tianjin, acting as stabilizers for regional economy.

On the Top 100 Taxpayers List, financial institutions such as Tianhong Asset Management, Kincheng Bank, Great Wall Binyin, JD Insurance, and Lionbridge Financing Leasing epitomize the rapid rise of modern service sectors in TEDA. As a hub for financial innovation in China, TEDA leverages its robust manufacturing foundation and regional policy opportunities to fuel up the rapid development of local financial sector. Through the integrated model of "industry + finance," it continuously infuses the real economy with a steady inflow of financial vitality.

In the realms of technological innovation and strategic emerging industries, influential companies such as Deepinfar, Vanchip, Sinomed, Heneng Home, WYBOTICS, and Hmn Tech have become new growth drivers for local economy thanks to their core technological strengths.

As a vital hub for manufacturing in Tianjin, TEDA boasts well-developed industrial chains across multiple sectors, including automotive and high-end equipment, next-generation information technology, pharmaceutical and healthcare, and new chemical materials. It has fostered a development landscape where foreign-funded, state-owned, and private enterprises coexist and mutually reinforce one another. In recent years, the private economy has grown rapidly, becoming a "new force" driving regional industrial upgrading. According to statistics, by the end of 2024, TEDA was home to nearly 50,000 private enterprises, accounting for over 91% of all enterprises in the area. Among these, 2,014 were large-scale private enterprises, representing 74.7% of the region's enterprises over designated scale.

Currently, against the backdrop of TEDA's ongoing efforts to promote the smart, green and digitized transition of local industries while developing new quality productive forces, private enterprises are actively engaging in this process and embarking on self-innovation. Taking Great Wall Motor's Tianjin Haval Branch as an example, as one of TEDA's leading automotive manufacturers, the company continues to increase investments in intelligence and green initiatives to enhance its core competitiveness. In early 2025, the Great Wall Motor Tianjin MIND Project, with a total investment of 1.153 billion yuan, commenced construction in the West Zone of TEDA. This project represents a significant step for Great Wall Motor in smart manufacturing. In September, Great Wall Motor officially launched its next-generation all-power smart super platform, which is planned for production at the Tianjin manufacturing base. This move will further solidify Great Wall Motor's technological leadership in green and intelligent transition, injecting new momentum into the development of Tianjin's new energy intelligent connected vehicle industry. Similarly, Rongcheng Group is steadily advancing on the path of intelligence and digitization. Beyond its core steel business, the group has expanded into sectors such as financial payments, Internet e-commerce, health and culture, new energy, smart logistics, and digital technology, demonstrating the development trajectory of traditional manufacturing toward high-end and diversified transition.

As leading companies transform and upgrade, a group of high-quality private enterprises in specialized sectors are focusing on technological innovation and achieving remarkable results. Sinomed, Tianjin’s first company listed on the STAR Market, has established an internationally competitive R&D, production, and operational system. Its coronary intervention products have obtained registration certificates in nearly 20 countries and regions and are gradually setting up market presence. Deepinfar has tackled several key technology bottlenecks in the field of underwater robotics and holds over 400 patents. Its products have been adopted in major national projects such as Arctic oceanographic expeditions, the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, and the Shenzhou series of manned spacecrafts. These leading enterprises from various segment markets, leveraging cutting‑edge technologies, are becoming a vital force driving regional industrial development and reshaping TEDA's industrial landscape.

The flourishing development of the private sector relies on TEDA's policy support and enabling business environment. Over the years, adhering to the strategy of "invigorating the region through science and technology," TEDA continuously optimizes its business environment. It fully leverages the synergistic advantages of policies from the "Free Trade Zone + Development Zone + Hi-tech and Innovation Zone" model and upgrades its administrative service center into a business welcome center, and thus establishes a multi-dimensional service model integrating "online + offline, and government + market."

At the end of 2024, TEDA implemented eight pioneering reform measures which were first-of-its-kind in Tianjin, such as the "TEDA Industrial Reform 5.0" and "Start of Construction Immediately after Land Acquisition for All Industrial Projects", significantly enhancing the approval efficiency for industrial projects. Benefiting from these measures, the Great Wall Motor Tianjin MIND Project took only 27 calendar days from project initiation to obtaining the construction permit, which even spanning the New Year and Spring Festival holidays. "This is a new milestone for our service efficiency," said an official from the TEDA Business Welcome Center.

In terms of technological innovation, TEDA has introduced a series of policies and measures to promote the development of high-tech industries. By deeply integrating technological innovation with industrial innovation, it continuously enhances innovation capabilities. In 2024, TEDA's R&D investment exceeded 10 billion yuan, and its registered transaction volume of technology contracts surpassed 21 billion yuan, ranking first in Tianjin. High-level platforms such as the National Supercomputing Center in Tianjin, the Tianjin International Joint Academy of Biomedicine, and the Chemical Materials Pilot Test Platform at the Tianjin Base of the Sinopec Beijing Research Institute of Chemical Industry have provided strong technological support for the high-quality development of private enterprises.

Meanwhile, TEDA fully leverages the advantages of the regional financial sector to empower industrial development. Recently, the "Carbon Bay No. 1" Fund, with a total scale of 200 million yuan, was officially established. It will focus on cutting-edge sectors such as carbon materials, bio-manufacturing, and new energy, providing capital support for high-quality early-to-mid-stage private projects. This initiative also represents an important step by TEDA to optimize the development ecosystem for the private economy and strengthen financial chain support.

The robust growth of private enterprises in TEDA is a vivid reflection of the region's simultaneous improvement in economic scale and quality, as well as its ongoing optimization of industrial structure. As one of China's first national-level development zones, TEDA has evolved from a primarily foreign-investment-driven economy in its early stages into one  highlighted by the collaborative development of foreign, state-owned, and private enterprises. It has also cultivated an industrial structure characterized by the dual-drive and integrated development of advanced manufacturing and modern services. Today, TEDA continues to actively explore new paths. On one hand, it doubles its efforts to attract foreign investment; on the other, it deepens the reform of state-owned enterprises while stimulating the vitality of the private economy and fostering more innovative enterprises. These efforts continuously drive high-quality economic development, providing a "TEDA model" for the transition and upgrading of development zones in China.