European Chamber Releases Tianjin Position Paper 2015/2016 Go back »

2016-03-03 | Tianjin

On 3rd March, the European Chamber released Tianjin Position Paper 2015/2016. It is the first ever standalone, local European Chamber position paper to focus exclusively on Tianjin and provides recommendations for the city’s continued development.

In the paper, the European Chamber presents six key recommendations that will enable Tianjin to leverage its unique potential and to meet the "Tianjin 2020" goals of establishing itself as north China’s economic centre, becoming an ecological city and an international port city by the year 2020. The European Chamber’s Tianjin Chapter fully supports these goals. However, the city should accelerate the current pace of reforms by adopting what we call the ‘3+1’ model (three expansions and one integration):

• Improve Tianjin’s overall quality of life: Tianjin must address two long-term problems – its air quality and the lack of public transportation options.

• Expand the TBNA and Tianjin Port: In order to get back on track to becoming the most competitive port in China, it needs to return to the level of service it provided prior to the explosion in August, and then surpass it. In order to release its full potential, the TBNA should also be expanded and its regulatory infrastructure internationalised.
• Expand the Tianjin Free Trade Zone:The local authorities must safeguard transparency and compliance with better regulations within the zone. More input from foreign enterprises in formulating a development strategy that will allow it to flourish should also be encouraged.
• Integrate ‘Jing-Jin-Ji’: China is looking to the creation of megaregions such as ‘Jing-Jin-Ji’ for its future model of sustainable growth. If executed carefully, ‘Jing-Jin-Ji’ may further boost the local economy while providing solutions to some of China’s acute problems, such as pollution, overcrowding, water-shortages and uneven development.

While Tianjin finds itself at a critical juncture, it has a number of unique tools that it can use to maximise evenly-distributed, long-term growth. Doing so will allow the city to take full advantage of its strategic location and to finally close the developmental gap with Beijing. European businesses look forward to playing a key role in this process.

Download the Tianjin Position Paper here.

About the European Business in China – Tianjin Position Paper 2015/2016

The European Chamber started incorporating local focus papers into our main lobbying publication, the European Business in China Position Paper, in 2010. The European Business in China –Tianjin Position Paper 2015/2016 is one of the series of standalone local Position Papers that the European Chamber has released for Shanghai, Beijing and South China.

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