Tianjin places bet on dogged recipe for success
By Wang Yu (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-03-14 07:16

A coastal city an hour's drive from Beijing, Tianjin is famous nationwide for a brand of stuffed meat buns with the strange-sounding name Goubuli, or "Dogs wouldn't care".

It is not one of my favorite snacks.

But that has not stopped the food chain from using the English name "Go Believe".

That seems to be the attitude Tianjin is adopting as well.

The municipality has been earmarked as the country's next growth engine, as mentioned in Premier Wen Jiabao's work report to the ongoing NPC.

But many, including myself, have had doubts on Tianjin being fully geared up for the development drive.

For a fairly long time, the city has been overshadowed by its neighbor, Beijing, which has been getting the lion's share of favorable policies and attracting all kinds of resources. It is something Tianjiners complain about and use as an excuse for their city's sluggish development.

However, I have gleaned positive signs of change occurring within the mindsets of the city's leaders, during my interviews with the municipality's deputies in the ongoing parliamentary sessions.

Gou Lijun, director of the Binhai New Area Administrative Committee, admitted that instead of competing with Beijing, Tianjin should develop a win-win collaboration with the capital, channeling more resources from it and supporting policies to aid its own development.

This humility vis--vis its formidable neighbor makes a lot of sense to me.

The Binhai New Area chief had also seized the opportunity to appeal for more favorable policies on financial reform from the central government, when Shang Fulin, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, attended the Tianjin panel's discussion of Premier Wen's work report last week.

As Gou stated, Tianjin is in desperate need of support and instruction from relevant departments of the central government to carry out the widely anticipated financial reform.

Aspiring to be a global harbor city and logistics hub, Tianjin's further development and opening up will fuel Beijing's growth in return. That is also a key message Tianjin deputies have been trying to convey.

Tianjin deputies have also kept a tight lid on their own achievements from the press, preferring instead to meet business partners or lobby authorities in the central government.

It is frustrating for us reporters, but in a way, this "do more and talk less" approach is a golden rule for any business.

Tianjin deputies are following the rule and keeping a low profile, even as a series of pilot programs for reform are in the pipeline.

Clearly, they know that arousing too much attention can also alert more competitors to what they are up to.

But the city's preparations for mainland residents to invest in Hong Kong-listed shares are reportedly on track.

The authorities are also busy assessing the risks and working on the payment system, currency conversion under capital accounts, and related laws and regulations.

Although nothing has been set in stone, it seems Tianjin's efforts to succeed are gaining ground.

Mayor Huang Xingguo said that Tianjin's status as a pilot city for financial reform will never change.

Talk about persistence.

(China Daily 03/14/2008 page6)