Tianjin aims high with new technology

The northern port city of Tianjin has introduced a slew of policies aimed at boosting the value of its high-tech industry to "hundreds of billions of yuan", a senior official has said.

Clean energy, new-energy vehicles and next-generation information technology are among the sectors the city hopes to push as it accelerates industrial upgrading, according to Ni Xiangyu, Party chief of the Tianjin Binhai High-tech Industrial Development Area.

The area has released improved policies and incentives to spur development and strengthen support for private companies, he said.

Measures introduced very recently removed all barriers to private investment in the area, according to the area's website.

"There are neither visible nor invisible restrictions (on such investment), unless stipulated in national laws or regulations," it said. "Public-private partnerships, equity investment and commissioning operations are encouraged."

The Binhai zone, which is a national demonstration area for innovation, is attracting more investment in high-tech sectors.

National New Energy Vehicle Co started production in the area in December. The installed production capacity is 50,000 electric vehicles a year, which will eventually be expanded to 220,000, the company said.

Iconiq Motors, a domestic electric vehicle maker based in Tianjin, has also reached an agreement with Microsoft to conduct research on vehicle-mounted artificial intelligence systems.

As for the IT industry, the Binhai area's management committee and Tsinghua Unigroup, a major chip manufacturer, have unveiled detailed plans to collaborate, including on setting up a financial leasing company and big data platform.

Tianjin's ambition to drive the high-tech industry has been fueled by the national strategy to push innovation-driven development and entrepreneurship.

Wang Endong, chief scientist at Inspur Group, one of the country's largest server makers, said earlier that China has grown from a follower into a leader in terms of innovation.

The country will pioneer next-frontier innovation such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing and big data applications, Wang said in October on the sidelines of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.