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The pilot reform base, about 120 kilometers to the southeast of Beijing, produced more than 100 million mobile phones in 2006, up 45 percent on the previous year and accounting for a quarter of the country's total and a tenth of the world total, according to the Tianjin Municipal Bureau of Statistics.

The area's electronics and communications industry grew rapidly last year, with industrial output up 23 percent in value terms year-on-year to 185 billion yuan (23 billion U.S. dollars), or 36 percent of the total for the area, said Pi Qiansheng, director of the Administrative Committee of the Binhai New Area.

China has listed the Binhai New Area in its development plan for the 2006-2010 period, aiming to make it the country's third economic engine, along with southern Shenzhen and Shanghai's Pudong area on the east coast. On completion, it will cover 2,270 square kilometers.

The area generated 196.05 billion yuan (24.5 billion U.S. dollars) of gross domestic product (GDP) last year, up 20 percent year-on-year, Pi said.

All major economic indices -- GDP, industrial output value, fiscal revenue, foreign trade and fixed asset investment -- jumped more than 20 percent last year, but local people expect more, Pi said.

This year, the local government will boost the area's development "more quickly and soundly," he said.

The government will speed up construction of eight functional zones in the area, including a hi-tech zone, a port logistics zone, an airport logistics zone, a central business district and a resort area, he said.

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