The city of Tianjin, often considered the port of Beijing, has received the official nod for an ambitious plan that will turn it into the "gateway to north China," state media said June 7.
Tianjin, a city and a region of more than 10 million people, has been designated an experimental zone with an emphasis on financial services, the China Daily reported, citing a statement from the State Council. The zone, the Binhai New Area, covering about 2,300 square kilometers (920 square miles), will seek to attract investors with preferential taxes.
The zone has also been dubbed "Pudong of North China," a reference to a part of Shanghai that in little more than a decade has been transformed from nothing into one of the most sophisticated high-tech finance centers of the world.
Tianjin is about 120 kilometers (75 miles) southeast of Beijing.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2006
