TIANJIN, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Mega container ship the MSC MIA loads steel, chemicals and vehicles at north China's Tianjin Binhai New Area, as it prepares to leave for Angola and Namibia later this week, the latest sign of surging China-Africa trade.
Since May 1, China has zeroed out tariffs on imports from all 53 African nations with diplomatic ties, helping turn Binhai, a sprawling port district of Bohai Bay in northern China, into a launchpad for a growing fleet of cargo vessels.
This also includes the mega-ship MSC Migsan, which now plies a new direct route from Binhai to Durban, South Africa, after it opened in April.
Binhai now links more than 500 ports across 180 countries and regions. Two decades ago, before Binhai was approved as the country's second state-level new area after Shanghai's Pudong, it was a wasteland of alkaline soil dotted with reeds.
The new area, which marked its 20th founding anniversary on Tuesday, has become a bustling gateway with an annual GDP approaching 800 billion yuan (about 117.9 billion U.S. dollars).
GOING GLOBE
Expanded port activity is only part of Binhai's increasing success.
Just a few kilometers from Tianjin Binhai International Airport, Airbus runs two final assembly lines for its A320 aircraft. About one-third of all Airbus jets currently flying in Chinese fleets were built in the Airbus workshop in Tianjin.
Since Airbus opened its first assembly line outside Europe here in 2008, a local supply ecosystem has developed. Major industry players like AVIC XAT, Goodrich and Safran Nacelles have set up nearby. Some 200 Chinese suppliers now support Airbus' commercial production, covering everything from raw materials to system assembly. Chinese-made components can be found on every type of Airbus jetliner.
In 2024, roughly one in four Airbus aircraft delivered to overseas customers came from Binhai New Area of Tianjin.
"The two A320 family aircraft final assembly lines in Tianjin are key to Airbus' global industrial strategy. They will help us create greater flexibility within a fragile ecosystem to meet broader market demand worldwide," said Katharina Wunderlich, general manager of Airbus (Tianjin) Final Assembly Co., Ltd.
"The stable and reliable assembly line, high-quality surrounding infrastructure, and resilient supply chain have left us feeling very satisfied with the ecosystem here, as well as our Chinese partners and suppliers," Wunderlich said.
Similarly, in Boeing Tianjin Composites Co., Ltd. located in Binhai New Area, nearly half of the production materials were from Chinese domestic suppliers, and its products were renowned for their high safety and quality standards within Boeing's global supply network.
Marcus Williams, vice general manager of Boeing Tianjin Composites Co., Ltd., said China has a relatively complete aviation industry supply chain system. China's open and inclusive market environment has made it a place for long-term investment.
Resilient industrial chains have become a major draw for multinationals expanding in the Binhai New Area.
Wang Lisong, dean of the School of Foreign Languages at Tianjin University, said Binhai New Area's strength lies in deeply embedding foreign capital into local industrial and supply chains, creating an interwoven pattern of mutual growth.
Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceutical giant, has been based in Binhai for over three decades, investing more than 10 billion yuan. Along with Roche, WuXi AppTec and others, it has turned Binhai into a biomedical highland.
Chen Qiang, director of the area's commerce bureau, said foreign-funded firms strongly support key industries such as aviation, automobile manufacturing, high-end equipment, green petrochemicals and bio-medicine in Binhai. The area now hosts 24 regional headquarters or headquarters-level institutions of multinationals.
Many foreign companies also see Binhai New Area as an innovation hub. Seventy-six foreign firms have set up R&D centers here.
Currently, 247 Fortune Global 500 companies have launched over 2,300 projects in Binhai New Area, with cumulative actual foreign capital exceeding 100 billion U.S. dollars, according to the commerce bureau.
Binhai now offers China's widest range of bonded maintenance services, covering sectors from aircraft, automobiles, construction machinery to medical equipment. In 2025, the total value of bonded maintenance imports and exports hit 31.7 billion yuan, a 36.3 percent jump from a year earlier.
Binhai New Area's use of institutional innovation to drive openness has deepened global ties and unlocked new growth, said Wang Lisong.
LIVABLE CITY
Binhai also hosts an eco-city project, jointly launched in 2008 by China and Singapore. Before construction, Chinese and Singaporean design teams drafted the world's first eco-city indicator system, with 22 regulatory and four guiding indicators covering environmental health, resource conservation, economic vitality and social harmony.
The system stipulates that 100 percent of buildings must be green, a standard higher than Singapore's. The model of the China-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City in Binhai has drawn attention from countries seeking to pursue their own green ambitions. Six international standards developed by the eco-city have already been adopted as national standards in Britain and Denmark.
Wang Shuang, vice president of the Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences, said Binhai's integration of port, industry and city represents a people-centered urbanization model.
With modern public facilities and world-class projects now in place, Binhai has become a magnet for international talent.
Tianjin Juilliard School in Binhai, jointly set up by the Tianjin Conservatory of Music and New York's Juilliard School in 2021, is the only overseas campus of New York's Juilliard School. The school has produced five master's cohorts and seven pre-college cohorts, graduating 185 master's students from 23 countries and regions.
Thananan Rochanakit, a Thai student studying percussion at the school, said he enjoys both the excellent music education and the modern urban lifestyle. "Tianjin is an invaluable experience to make a cultural exchange with our friends from different countries," he said. ■
