Global port has yet higher ambitions

Expansion seen as tianjin's ticket to greater exposure to international trade

The State Council has approved a new round of expansion plans to further open the waters and shoreline in Tianjin. The project will help all the ports and docks in Tianjin open up to the world.

"The plan will substantially lift the capacity of Tianjin port and help Tianjin become an international port city. Moreover, the policy clearly signals that the expansion will pave the way to facilitate free trade around the Bohai Bay Economic Rim and trilateral integration among China, Japan and South Korea," says Qin Haiying, professor at School of Economics, Nankai University.

East Asia, whose economies are growing faster than those of the European Union and North America, has fallen behind in its integration as it lacks an institutional framework for regional cooperation, Qin says.

Tianjin port handled more than 500 million metric tons of cargo last year. It is the world's fourth-largest port by throughput, and it handles international trade with more than 500 ports in more than 180 countries and regions.

The project will triple the space open to foreign-flagged cargo ships and those from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan to 1,590 square km. It will extend the open shoreline to 148 km from 78.9 km. In addition, 71 new berths will be built to bring the total to 146, according to the State Council.

"The project will help Tianjin port transform and upgrade with infrastructure construction. The building of new ports will help boost the regional integration of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province, and further drive the economic growth of surrounding regions such as Shandong and Henan provinces," says Gao Yuqing, deputy director of port management at the Tianjin Municipal People's Government.

Nangang port, which is located at the Binhai New Area on the coast of the Bohai sea, serves as a major port to support industries in Tianjin. It is likely to open to the world by next year with integrated customs services, Gao says.

Liu Gang, professor at the School of Economics at Nankai University, says the further opening of Tianjin port could lay the foundation for a free-trade area encompassing Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province.

"The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei metropolitan area is an important economic growth area in North China, but it is behind in terms of its opening compared with the Yangtze River Delta. The idea is to further open the area to facilitate trade and integrate the port and the city of Tianjin," Liu says.

zhuwenqian@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 10/10/2014 page23)