High-Quality Development: Tianjin Mayor: Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei plan a 'once in a thousand years' opportunity
Updated 23:06, 22-Jul-2019
Tianjin, one of China's most historical port cities is taking steps to re-invent itself in the new era. CGTN's Sun Ye reports.
Located on the Gulf of Bohai, Tianjin has stayed one of China's best-known and most open port cities for hundreds of years. 
But mayor Zhang Guoqing says it's only in recent years that the city has really utilized its geographical advantages. He says the ongoing Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development plan is an opportunity that comes along "once in a thousand years", and that the city is already taking on new roles.
ZHANG GUOQING MAYOR OF TIANJIN "Beijing's 'non-capital functions' have been outsourced to us. More than 4000 projects, worth 700 billion yuan have come here from Beijing. We facilitate, as well as benefit from that re-alignment."
Tianjin is just 100 kilometers southeast from the capital city Beijing, and from Xiong'an New area. And that strategic position keeps hopes high.
ZHANG GUOQING MAYOR OF TIANJIN "Four high-speed railway lines will connect Beijing and Tianjin, including one that connects Tianjin to the new airport. We have started work on a national conventional center for the region. Many projects are in the pipeline."
In line with the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei mega-plan, Mayor Zhang says Tianjin will be the manufacturing and R&D base, the core shipping zone, the financial innovation pilot zone and a reform pioneer in the region.
SUN YE BEIJING "The mayor also set a deadline for the city's next goals promising 'breakthroughs' in innovation, in an open, inclusive economy, and becoming the nation's greenest and most liveable city by 2022. SY, CGTN, BJ."