In the first six months of this year the coastal city of Tianjin recorded its highest growth in gross domestic product (GDP) in 16 years, sources from the city's statistics administration said recently.

"The GDP of Tianjin reached 295.19 billion yuan during the first half of the year, up 16.3 percent," said Zhang Qiang, deputy director of Tianjin Bureau of Statistics.

It is the municipality's biggest GDP percentage jump since 1992.

Zhang forecast that Tianjin's GDP growth during the second half will be equally robust, exceeding 16 percent year-on-year.

With the high growth, the city's energy consumption measured per unit of GDP dropped by 4.4 percent in the first six months, reflecting the city's efforts to enhance energy efficiency.

The city's manufacturing sector created a combined incremental value of 163.59 billion yuan from January to June, an increase of 21 percent over the same period of 2007.

The value of Tianjin's service sector increased by 14 percent year-on-year during the period.

Rising GDP

"Tianjin's service industry has achieved a fairly high increase, thanks to our efforts to raise its share in the city's overall economic structure," Zhang said.

 

The city's per capita GDP now exceeds $6,000, providing the impetus for Tianjin to drive its service industry further forward, which will in return strengthen its overall economy, said Wu Zhenyuan, a senior statistician.

"With Tianjin's GDP surpassing 500 billion yuan last year and per capital GDP reaching $6,000, we believe that local service industry will bloom," Wu said.

Tianjin's service industry grew 14 percent in 2007, the highest in a decade, to contribute 40.3 percent to the city's GDP last year.

But Tianjin still lags behind metropolises like Beijing and Shanghai, so the coastal city is moving to catch up and create more value in its modern service industry.

Tianjin Mayor Huang Xingguo said that the city should spare no effort developing a modern service industry, which includes financial services, logistics, commerce and trade - and importantly, tourism.

The local government said it is working to perfect the financial service system this year, bringing in more financial institutions and regional headquarters. Tianjin should also make innovations in financial products and stimulate the market, Huang said.

To strengthen other service segments such as logistics and commerce, he said the city should step up the construction of infrastructure and help enterprises improve their services in other ways.

The Tianjin tourism authority should integrate the city's tourism resources in 2008 and design new products and services, the mayor said.

Wu stressed that Tianjin should take full advantage of its position as an international harbor city and a future economic center in north China to further develop the service industry.

"Tianjin should not develop the service sector all by itself. Instead, the city should rely on regional cooperation to fuel its development," Wu said.

Tianjin should further make use of its dual role as a gateway for logistics and capital for the whole Bohai Bay-rim area, Wu said.

Impact of the Games

The coming 2008 Olympics is expected to bring unprecedented tourist numbers to Tianjin, which is both an opportunity and challenge for the city.

The appearance of the city, hotels and other service sectors will make a first impression for visitors, so the mayor noted the importance of window service industries to enhancing service quality and displaying the charm of Tianjin.

International tourism has not traditionally been big business for Tianjin. With some Olympics events and the Summer Davos forum set for this year, there will be a breakthrough in tourism and services, Wu contended.

Tianjin's service industry attracted more than half of the foreign direct investment in Tianjin last year.

By 2012, Tianjin's GDP is expected to hit 1 trillion yuan, with per capita GDP reaching $10,000. In five years, the service industry is projected to contribute more than 45 percent to the city's GDP, according to Tianjin Bureau of Statistics.