Tianjin aims to be global service center

Tianjin, the largest coastal city in northern China, plans to develop itself into a modern service center and hopes to attract the world's business elite to locate in the city.

With an investment of 11 billion yuan ($1.79 billion), the city has built a modern services district, similar to Beijing's central business district, which consists of offices, retail and residential properties of more than 1.3 million square meters. "We want to develop the district into a regional financial, commercial and administrative center," said Zhang Bingjun, chairman of Tianjin TEDA Investment Holding Co Ltd, the State-owned investment company responsible for the project.

The company owns and operates the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area which has about 130 foreign businesses from the Fortune 500 list.