◆By Bohai Bay stands a first-class international port.
◆Tianjin Port is connected with over 500 ports in over 180 countries and regions by 120 container lines and more than 550 scheduled vessels.
◆Every year, more than 540 million tons and 14.11 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of goods are transported from here to all over the world.
◆It boasts the world's best artificial deep water port, which allows the world's largest container vessel of 300,000-tons to enter.
◆This is Tianjin Port, a pivot for the nation's One Belt and One Road Initiative. It stands at the intersection of the Beijing and Tianjin city belt and the Bohai Economic Rim.
By Wu Ziran
Tianjin Port is the largest of its kind in north China. It consists of the North Port, South Port, East Port, South Zone of the Harbor Economic Area and the East Zone of Dagang Port. The North Port is mainly used for the operation of containers and wheeled cargoes, the development of a large-scale container logistics park and facilitating the rebuilding of the old harbor district. The East Port is focused on container transportation and high-end services, the development of international transit shipment, international procurement and distribution, and also helps develop the Jing-Jin-Ji area, e-commerce and automobile trade industrial parks. The South Port, South Zone and East Zone prioritize bulk cargo transportation and port processing, while developing industrial parks that cover large-scale and professional bulk cargo logistics, bulk cargo trade and equipment manufacturing.
By the end of 2015, Tianjin Port (Group) Co. Ltd. had held assets totaling 136 billion yuan and had an income of 35.1 billion yuan. It performs several functions, including terminal operations, international logistics, port property development and comprehensive services. It has been listed among top 500 enterprises in China for 14 consecutive years.
In order to be integrated into the construction of One Belt and One Road Initiative and play an integral supporting role, Tianjin Port is in a good position to serve as an important pivot for the nation's One Belt and One Road initiative. About 70 percent of the port's cargo throughput and over 50 percent of import and export value come from provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions outside Tianjin.
Externally, Tianjin Port has taken the initiative to adapt to the international shipping industry's new trends of large scale ship professionalization and economic restructuring. The plan is to drive construction onwards at high standards. It has built a batch of high-level, professional wharves including the mammoth 300,000 ton crude oil terminal and cruise home-port, elevating Tianjin Port to the position of most well-functioned among all coastal ports in China.
Meanwhile, Tianjin Port vigorously develops the container business, adds more liner ships, operates the Bohai-Sea inner line, and facilitates the construction of logistic nodes beside the sea. It promotes the construction of epic logistic channels, including the “Tianjin-Mongolia-Russia” and “Tianjin-Xinjiang-Europe” channels, takes the lead in establishing five regional marketing centers and 25 dry ports and opening more than 10 sea-railway intermodal transportation channels. During the 12th Five-Year Plan, Tianjin Port's sea-railway intermodal transportation volume exceeded 1.5 million TEUs.
To accelerate the building of the international shipping center of north China and the international logistics center, transform the port into an institutional innovation base, a new driving force of the maket economy, and a new platform for regional coordination, Tianjin Port reclaimed land of 31 square km in East Port. Since being approved by the State Council in August 2006, the East Port Bonded Area became fully operational in seven years, creating the remarkable East Port speed and East Port spirit. Currently, Tianjin Port has become an important part of China’s (Tianjin) Pilot Free Trade Zone, a core function zone of the international shipping center of north China and also an innovation platform in Binhai New Area's reform. It integrates multiple national policies including special Customs supervision and cross-border e-commerce. According to statistics, since the port's opening in 2007 till the end of 2015, the container throughput of the Tianjin East Port Bonded Area had reached 18.6 million TEUs, and the number of registered and operating companies from home and abroad stood at 6,968.
During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, Tianjin Port will stick to and pursue creative, coordinated, green, open and shared development. Since the Chinese Government's objective for Tianjin is to be “an advanced national manufacturing and researching base, an international shipping zone in north China, a financial innovation demonstration base, and a leading area of reform and opening up,” Tianjin Port will take the initiative to adapt to the new normal, adhere to improving quality and forming synergy, and insist on building momentum to enhance reform and innovation. It will continue to improve its modern port planning system, build itself into an international hub which is green, secure and smart.
By 2020, Tianjin Port’s cargo throughput will have reached 650 million tons, and its container throughput will reach 17 million TEUs. It will become a figurehead of economic diversification and cluster development, and a global resource allocation hub, thus boosting Tianjin's efforts in positioning itself as an international shipping zone in north China.
