The Tientsin Eye ferris wheel over the Haihe River in Tianjin. (PHOTO: VCG)

By YUAN Ying

Tianjin, a city that was established in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) with the opening of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, thrives on the operation of its ports. Covering an area of 11,900 square kilometers, the city has a history of more than six hundred years. Its maritime orientation and its role as the gateway to Beijing help the city embrace a unique historical style and an innovative population.

It is not only the main node of China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor, the strategic fulcrum of the Maritime Silk Road, and the intersection of the Belt and Road Initiative, but also the largest port city in northern China.

Tianjin advocates knowledge and respects talent, while innovation and openness are its defining features.

For a long time, under the leadership of Tianjin Municipal Committee of CPC and Tianjin Municipal Government, the whole city has endeavored to implement important development instructions of President Xi Jinping, as well as his statements on scientific and technological innovation.

Based on its positioning, Tianjin has been firmly carrying out an innovation-driven development strategy with innovation as the core. As its innovative ecosystem is constantly improving, and its overall strength of science and technology has made steady progress, a new pattern of innovation-driven development has taken shape.

Nationally, Tianjin ranks third in R&D investment, fourth in the comprehensive sci-tech innovation index, and second in technology market transactions as a proportion of GDP.

It has a number of state-level innovation platforms including new-generation supercomputers, national synthetic biology technology innovation center, large earthquake engineering simulation research facilities, and a key laboratory of Chinese medicine research. Moreover, it owns many national research institutes, such as China Automotive Technology and Research Center, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology under Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Tianjin Institute of Seawater Desalination and Multipurpose Utilization, part of the Ministry of Natural Resources.

In particular, since last year, five Haihe laboratories, including one for creating and manufacturing green substance, have been launched, along with the opening of seven university sci-tech parks. A host of major innovation achievements have also been achieved, including artificial synthesis of starch from carbon dioxide, and the birth of the Tianjin pure solar car. In total, 22 scientific research achievements have won national science and technology awards.

The number of national high-tech enterprises and that of small and medium-sized technology-oriented enterprises in Tianjin exceeded 9,100. Meanwhile, the operating revenue of high-tech enterprises accounted for over 60 percent of the total operating revenue of industrial enterprises above designated size. Sci-tech innovation is playing an increasingly prominent role in supporting and leading high-quality development in Tianjin.

Over the years, Tianjin Municipal Science and Technology Bureau has been implementing President Xi's instructions on talent-related work, adhering to the concepts of "talent is the primary resource" and "gathering talent from all over the world." The city focuses on the needs of economic and social development to conduct global talent exchanges. Efforts are also made to attract high-end experts, optimize public services, and create a favorable environment for foreign experts to display their talent. Foreign experts have played a unique role in Tianjin's economic and social development, especially in promoting sci-tech innovation.

Full of vitality and boundless potential, Tianjin is now one of the most attractive Chinese cities for foreigners. Forging ahead on a new journey in the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), centering on the overall plan of high-quality development, Tianjin will further implement the strategy of developing a quality workforce, creating a pool of global talent and go all out to facilitate their personal development.

Tianjin looks forward to cooperating and exchanging ideas with more foreign experts, expecting them to continue to follow and support urban development and participate in it, so as to jointly build a more vibrant city.

The author is deputy director of Tianjin Municipal Science and Technology Bureau, and head of Tianjin Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs.