Thirty years ago, Shenzhen was a small fishing village, and 15
years ago, the Pudong New Area was just a poor suburb of
Shanghai.
Today, they are economic powerhouses for the fast developing
country.
Tianjin's Binhai New Area is not that far behind them.
"In 10 years, the Binhai New Area, singled out for its modern
manufacturing, research and development capacity, shipping and
logistics, will become the third powerhouse for China," Song
Lianxin, deputy director of the area's administrative committee,
said yesterday.
The Binhai New Area, some 2,270 sq km in size, is home to some
of the world's biggest companies such as Motorola, Samsung, Toyota,
Sinopec, PetroChina, Airbus and GlaxoSmithKline.
The country's biggest bonded area, the Dongjiang Bonded Harbor
Area, and a new 116,000-sq-m airport, are also under
construction.
The new area also has President Hu Jintao's firm backing.
In a speech at the just-concluded 17th National Congress of the
Communist Party, Hu said special economic zones, such as the Pudong
New Area in Shanghai and the Binhai New Area, would play a major
role in reform, opening up and independent innovation.
This was the first time that the Binhai New Area was mentioned
in the Party Congress report, a document that experts said paves
the way for the country's development over the next five years.
"We're excited and encouraged over this unprecedented
statement," Song said.
"It shows the central leadership has put the Binhai New Area at
an important position in the country's overall development
strategy."
There has long been debate over which area was likely to become
China's third powerhouse.
Development zones and city alliances in at least six provinces
and autonomous regions, including Guangxi, Sichuan, Liaoning,
Hunan, Hubei and Tianjin, had been jostling for the position. It is
believed that the establishment of such a status would attract
favorable policies and resource distribution, as well as more
decision-making power.
Mei Song, a senior researcher with Beijing Academy of Social
Sciences, said this statement showed that the central leadership
had paid more attention to balanced regional development.
"Shenzhen, Pudong, and Binhai are located in the country's
southern, central and northern coastline," he said.
"The decision to make Binhai the third pilot area shows the
country wants its economic driving force to move from the south to
the north."
A document from the State Council, China's cabinet, released
last year pinned high hopes on the Binhai New Area aiding the
development of other neighboring regions.
The area recorded a 172 billion yuan ($22.6 billion) of gross
product in the first nine months of this year, up 20 percent
year-on-year. It is estimated that by the end of the year, the
figure will reach 236 billion yuan, about the same as the gross
product last year of Shanghai Pudong.
It is expected by 2010 the area's gross product would reach 350
billion yuan, with an annual growth rate of at least 17 percent,
higher than the current 14 percent annual growth rate in Shanghai
Pudong.
Song said they were confident the goal would be achieved and
also revealed that cooperation agreements with other ports along
the Bohai Sea, such as Tangshan and Yantai, to had been
reached.
"The Party Congress report has said that the Binhai New Area
must play a role in independent innovation, pinning high
expectations on us," Song said.
"We've planned a hi-tech zone and a modern manufacturing zone
and we're expecting more enterprises to establish their research
and development bases here."
It is expected that by 2010, half of its industrial output would
come from hi-tech industries.
The State Council has also allowed the Binghai New Area to
conduct a range of financial reforms, including experiments in
reforming the scope of the banking business, ways of fund-raising
and control of foreign exchange.
Some observers believe the experience gained here would be of
great significance to any national financial reform.
(China Daily November 8, 2007)